FNPS Plant Database

Damburneya coriacea

lancewood

PHOTOS COMING SOON!

Nomenclature

Common Name:

lancewood

Synonym(s):

Ocotea coriacea, Nectandra coriaceae

Genus species:

Damburneya coriacea

Family:

Lauraceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

shrub

Size:

20-30 ft tall by 10-20 ft wide

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

white

Fruit Color:

blue,black

Phenology:

Evergreen. Blooms in spring. Fruits summer-fall.

Noted For:

Showy Flowers, Interesting Foliage

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

This small tree has an elegant appearance that makes it suited to use as a specimen plant. The glossy evergreen foliage makes this small tree also make it effective as a screen or barrier plant.

Considerations:

Potentially subject to laurel wilt disease.

Availability:

Native Nurseries, Seed

Propagation:

Light:

Full Sun, Part Sun

Moisture Tolerance:

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

Coming Soon!

Somewhat moist, no flooding ---to--- Short very dry periods

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, Lime Rock

Soil pH:

Adaptable

Suitable to Grow In:

9B,10A,10B,11

USDA zones are based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature.



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Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators

Insect pollinated.  Said to be a good honey plant (Haehle and  Brookwell 1999).

Wildlife food plant.

Native Habitats:

Tropical hammocks. This is naturally an understory tree and also as a colonizer of disturbed sites.

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

The common name "Lancewood" comes fact that early Florida Indians apparently used the very straight stems as lances for spearing fish.

General Comments:

Foliage when crushed smells like citrus.

Citations:

Haehle, Robert G. and Joan Brookwell.  1999.  Native Florida Plants.  Gulf Publishing Company.  Houston, TX.



Osorio, Rufino. 2001. A gardener's guide to Florida's native Plants.  University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL.



Wunderlin, R. P., B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. 2021. Atlas of Florida Plants (http://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/).  Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

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