Persea humilis
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Scrub Bay
Lauraceae
Also known as Persea borbonea var. humilis
Plant Specifics
| Form: | Tree | |
| Size: | To 20 ft tall by To 10 ft wide | |
| Life Span: | Long-lived perennial | |
| Flower Color: | White | |
| Fruit Color: | Black | |
| Phenology: | Evergreen. Blooms in late spring. | |
| Noted for: | Interesting foliage |
Landscaping
| Recommended Uses: | Nice specimen plant. Slow growing. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Considerations: | This small tree appears to less likely to be killed by laurel wilt than Florida's other bays.. It is likely that it is too small to attract the beetle that spreads the disease. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Propagation: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Availability: | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Light: | Full Sun, Part Shade | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Moisture Tolerance: |
always floodedextremely dry |
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| (Short very dry periods ----- to ----- Very long very dry periods) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Moisture Tolerance: | Short very dry periods ----- 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: | Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Soil or other substrate: | Sand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Soil pH: | Acidic | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ecology
| Wildlife: |
Fruits eaten and dispersed by birds. | |
| Insects: | Larval host plant for palamedes swallowtail (Papilio palamedes) and spicebush swallowtail (Papilio troilus) butterflies. Attracts bees including Colletes brimleyi, C. nudus, Augochlora pura, Augochlorella aurata, Augochloropsis metallica and Anthidiellum perplexum (Deyrup et al. 2002) | |
| Native Habitats: | Dry sites. Scrub, high pine, scrubby sandhill. |
Distribution and Planting Zones
Natural Range in Florida
USDA Zones
Suitable to grow in:
10A 10B 8A 8B 9A 9B
USDA zones are based on minimum winter temperatures
Comments
| General Comments: | Do not plant this plant unless you are absolutely sure that it is not infected by laurel wilt disease. In general, this small bay seems to be escaping its ravages. |