Crossopetalum taxa are shrubs or trees, with opposite or whorled persistent leaves with petiole and stipules. Inflorescences are axillary, regrouping white, pale green, reddish, or purplish radially symmetric flowers, with four sepals, four petals, and a four-carpellate pistil. Intrastaminal nectaries are annular and fleshy. Fruits are red drupes, with one-two seeds per fruit.
General Landscape Uses: Accent shrub.
Ecological Restoration Notes: An uncommon element of hammock edges and pine rocklands.
Availability: Grown by one or two native plant nurseries in South Florida.
Description: Medium shrub or rarely a small tree, with erect or spreading branches. Bark pale, almost white. Leaves leathery, light green, about 1/2 to 1 1/2 inches long.
Dimensions: Typically 3-8 feet in height, often broader then tall.
Growth Rate: Moderate to slow.
Range: Monroe County Keys and Miami-Dade County; disjunct in Sarasota County; Bermuda, the West Indies, Mexico and Central America.
