Cartrema floridanum
Scrub Wild Olive
Oleaceae
Also known as Osmanthus megacarpus
Plant Specifics
Form: | Tree | |
Size: | 15-20 (30) ft tall by 10 ft wide | |
Life Span: | Long-lived perennial | |
Flower Color: | White | |
Fruit Color: | Black | |
Phenology: | Evergreen | |
Noted for: | Aroma, Fragrance, Showy flowers, Interesting foliage |
Landscaping
Recommended Uses: | Screen plant esp. for sunny, dry sites. Specimen plant where its shiny foliage will be appreciated. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Considerations: | Slow growing. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Propagation: | Seed. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Availability: | Friends, Seed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Light: | Full Sun, Part Shade | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Moisture Tolerance: |
always floodedextremely dry |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(Not wet but not extremely dry ----- to ----- Very long very dry periods) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Moisture Tolerance: | Not wet but not extremely dry ----- to ----- Very long very dry periods | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Salt Water Flooding Tolerance: | Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Salt Spray/ Salty Soil Tolerance: | Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Soil or other substrate: | Sand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Soil pH: | Acidic |
Ecology
Wildlife: |
Birds eat fruit. | |
Insects: | Bees and other pollinators. | |
Native Habitats: | Dry sites. Scrub, scrubby sandhill. |
Distribution and Planting Zones
Natural Range in Florida
USDA Zones
Suitable to grow in:
9A 9B

USDA zones are based on minimum winter temperatures
Comments
Ethnobotany: | Fruit is edible. | |
General Comments: | This is a Florida endemic. |