FNPS Plant Database

Vallesia antillana

pearl berry, tearshrub

PHOTOS COMING SOON!

Nomenclature

Common Name:

pearl berry, tearshrub

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Vallesia antillana

Family:

Apocynaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

shrub

Size:

5-10. ft tall by 5-10 ft wide

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

white

Fruit Color:

white

Phenology:

evergreen

Noted For:

Showy Fruits, Interesting Foliage

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Specimen shrub. Foliage is shiny, attractive. Grown mostly for its interesting, translucent fruits.

Considerations:

Availability:

Native Nurseries, Seed

Propagation:

De-pulped seed.

Light:

Part Sun

Moisture Tolerance:

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

Coming Soon!

Usually moist, occasional inundation ---to--- Not wet but not extremely dry

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand, Loam, Lime Rock

Soil pH:

alkaline

Suitable to Grow In:

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



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Ecology

Wildlife:

Birds, Mammals

Native Habitats:

Tropical rockland hammock, coastal rock barren, beach dune, coastal strand. Lower Keys only.

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

General Comments:

It is listed as endangered by the state of Florida and as critically imperiled in South Florida by The Institute for Regional Conservation.

Citations:

Chapin, Linda.  2000.  Field guide to the rare plants of Florida.  Florida Natural Areas Inventory, Tallahassee, 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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