Package of 100 seeds 

Florida privet, Florida swampprivet
Forestiera segregata

General Landscape Uses:


Accent shrub or small tree.

Ecological Restoration Notes:


A shrub along hammock especially along the coast.



Description:

Large shrub or small tree with a dense, irregular crown composed of many small trunks from crooked trunks. Bark pale or creamy, thin, smooth with many breathing pores (lenticels). Leaves dark green above, 3/4-2 inches long. Semi-deciduous, with the old leaves falling as the new flush of growth begins.
Dimensions:

Typically 8-15 feet in height in South Florida; to 17.5 feet in Florida. Often as broad as tall.
Growth Rate:

Moderate to fast.
Range:

Southeastern United States south to the Monroe County Keys; Bermuda and the West Indies. Very rare and scattered in the Monroe County Keys.
Habitats:

Hammocks and hammock edges; understory shrub in pine rocklands.
Soils:

Moist, well-drained sandy or limestone soils, with humusy top layer.
Nutritional Requirements:

Moderate; can grow in nutrient poor soils, but needs some organic content to thrive.
Salt Water Tolerance:

Low; does not tolerate long-term flooding by salt or brackish water.
Salt Wind Tolerance:

High; can tolerate moderate amounts of salt wind without injury.
Drought Tolerance:

High; does not require any supplemental water once established.
Light Requirements:

Full sun.
Flower Color:

Yellowish-green.
Flower Characteristics:

Semi-showy, in small clusters from the axils of the previous year's growth. Dioecious, with male and female flowers on different plants, or polygamodioecious, with a few flowers of the opposite sex or bisexual flowers on the same plant.
Flowering Season:

All year; peak in spring.
Fruit:

Black or dark purple drupe.
Wildlife and Ecology:

Provides significant food and cover for wildlife. Birds eat the fruits.
Horticultural Notes:

Can be grown from de-pulped seed. Cover with soil and place in full sun.
Comments:

This shrub grow readily in the garden from seed.
 Synonyms: plants with smaller leaves growing in the pine rocklands of Miami-Dade County have been described as a distinct species, F. pinetorum, or variety, F. segregata var. pinetorum.