|                    Tough Florida bully
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                |                    Sideroxylon tenax  
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                |                    Sapotaceae 
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                 Landscape Uses:
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                 Accent or specimen shrub in coastal uplands. | 
               
                Ecological Restoration Notes:  | 
               
              
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                | Availability: | 
               
              
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                 Commonly available at native plant nurseries in central Florida. Available at native plant nurseries in South Florida. | 
               
              
                | Description: | 
               
              
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                 Large shrub or small tree with an open, irregular crown.  Trunks short, bearing many irregular branches.  Bark, thick, fissured, reddish brown.  Leaves bright green above, the underside coated with rust-colored hairs. | 
               
              
                | Height: | 
               
              
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                 About 5-15 feet in height or sometime more.  Often broader than tall. | 
               
              
                | Growth Rate: | 
               
              
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                 Slow. | 
               
              
                | Range: | 
               
              
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                 Southeastern United States south to Miami-Dade and Collier counties.  Very rare in South Florida outside of Palm Beach and Martin counties.  Perhaps never present or extirpated in Broward County.  Presumed extirpated in Miami-Dade County. | 
               
              
                | Habitats: | 
               
              
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                 Coastal hammocks and scrub. | 
               
              
                | Soils: | 
               
              
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                 Moist to dry, well-drained sandy soils, with humusy top layer. | 
               
              
                | Nutritional Requirements: | 
               
              
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                 Moderate; can grow in nutrient poor soils, but needs some organic content to thrive. | 
               
              
                | Salt Water Tolerance: | 
               
              
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                 Low; does not tolerate long-term flooding by salt or brackish water. | 
               
              
                | Salt Wind Tolerance: | 
               
              
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                 High; can tolerate moderate amounts of salt wind without significant injury. | 
               
              
                | Drought Tolerance: | 
               
              
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                 High; does not require any supplemental water once established. | 
               
              
                | Light Requirements: | 
               
              
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                 Full sun to light shade. | 
               
              
                | Flower Color: | 
               
              
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                 White. | 
               
              
                | Flower Characteristics: | 
               
              
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                 Inconspicuous. | 
               
              
                | Flowering Season: | 
               
              
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                 All year; peak spring-summer. | 
               
              
                | Fruit: | 
               
              
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                 Black ovoid berry. | 
               
              
                | Wildlife and Ecology: | 
               
              
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                 Attracts pollinators. | 
               
                     
                | Horticultural Notes: | 
               
              
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                 Can be grown from de-pulped seed. | 
               
              
                | Comments: | 
               
              
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