General Landscape Uses:
Accent or specimen palm.
Ecological Restoration Notes: Historical populations are being augmented at Biscayne National Park and reintroduced at Long Key State Park. These are the only historical locations in South Florida.
Availability:
Commonly available at native plant nurseries in South Florida. Available at native plant nurseries in central Florida.
Description: Shrub or small tree.
Growth Rate: Slow.
Range:
South Florida, the West Indies, southern Mexico and Belize. In South Florida, native only to Elliott Key in Miami-Dade County and Long Key in the Monroe County Keys. Very slow growing and apparently not spreading from cultivation elsewhere. For a digitized image of Elbert Little's Florida range map, visit the
Exploring Florida website.
Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Map of Postal Code Areas of IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Habitats: Coastal hammocks.
Soils: Moist, very well-drained limestone or sandy soils, with or without a humusy top layer.
Salt Water Tolerance: Moderately low; does not tolerate long-term flooding by salt or brackish water, but tolerates short term inunation by salt water from storm surge with minimal damage.
Salt Wind Tolerance: High; can tolerate moderate amounts of salt wind without significant injury.
Drought Tolerance: High; does not require any supplemental water once established.
Light Requirements: Full sun to light shade.
Flower Color: Yellow.
Flower Characteristics: Inconspicuous.
Flowering Season: All year.
