Florida's Nature/Home

Glossary

Buttonwood, Conocarpus erectus

Go to - Landscape Trees
Landscape Shrubs

Family - Combretaceae

Natural Habitat - Shorelines of estuaries & barrier island lagoons, south of Cape Canaveral.

U.S.D.A. Zones - 10, 11.

Native multiple stemmed shrub or small tree, Buttonwood is also known as Buttonwood Mangrove & Button Mangrove. Capable of reaching a height of 40 feet, Buttonwood more often takes the form of a medium to large shrub of 15 feet or less.

Flowers are white to purplish, produced year round, the fruit from which this plant gets its common name is a round, cone - like reddish brown berry.

Silver buttonwood ( Conocarpus erectus var. sericeus ) with its silvery pubescent leaves is widely used as a landscape shrub. Either form can be trained to grow as a single trunked specimen with pruning.

Landscape Use -  Specimen, border, hedge or screen - especially good for low lying, wet areas.

Culture - Full sun to light shade, Buttonwood is tolerant of salt, alkaline soils & drought. Buttonwood has strong wood and is resistant to wind.

Copyright 2008 - 2010 Ed Weislo / Privacy Policy & Terms of Use / Site Map