Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
Photo by: Mark Hutchinson, Hernando Chapter, FNPS
Photo by: Jon Pospisil
Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
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Nomenclature

Common Name:

gopher-apple

Synonym(s):

Licania michauxii

Genus species:

Geobalanus oblongifolius

Family:

Chrysobalanaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

shrub

Size:

0.5 to 1 (3 rarely) ft.  Spreads by rhizomes to form large colonies.

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

white

Fruit Color:

yellow

Phenology:

Evergreen in the southern part of its range; deciduous to the north. Typically blooms late spring-mid summer.

Noted For:

Showy Flowers

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Groundcover in dry, sunny settings.  Can also make a good soil stabilizer.

Considerations:

Availability:

Native Nurseries, Seed

Propagation:

Divide or plant from seed. Said to be difficult to transplant from field-divided material, but nursery grown plants are much easier to establish.

Light:

Full Sun, Part Sun

Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded------------------------------------------------Extremely Dry

Coming Soon!

Not wet but not extremely dry ---to--- 1Stays wet

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Moderate. Tolerant of salty wind and may get some salt spray.

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand

Soil pH:

Slightly acidic

Suitable to Grow In:

9A,9B,10A,10B,11

Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators, Butterflies, Mammals

Butterflies including buckeyes, rattlebox moths, wasps, ants and bees use the flowers.  Bees are the primary pollinators. Documented bees include   Colletes sp. A, Agaposternon splendens, Augochlorella aurata, Augochloropsis metallica, A. sumptuosa, Dialictus nyinphalis, Sphecodes heraclei, Megachile brevispseudobrevis, Epeoluszonatus and Apis inellifera (Deyrup et al. 2002)

 Fruits are eaten by small mammals and gopher tortoises. 

Native Habitats:

Scrub, scrubby flatwoods, sandhill, dry secondary woods. Pine rocklands.

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

Fruits are edible but the animals usually get them first.

General Comments:

High tolerance for salt spray (IFAS).