Florida Swampprivet aka Florida Privet

(Forestiera segregata)

A Florida native plant in the olive family, it can be trimmed to be a bush or become a small tree, typically 8-15 feet. It has many small trunks with breathing pores known as lenticels. Bees and butterflies are attracted to the tiny, corolla-less white flowers that have greenish yellow or reddish purple stamens. These flowers occur in the winter and early spring before the new leaves emerge. The fruits are purplish or dark-blue drupes that ripen in the spring and summer. The birds favor these and the plant produces the fruits in abundance. These may have been used as a dye by early people. Birds and other wildlife consume the fruit and use the privet for cover.

Information Provided by the Friends of Barefoot Beach Preserve
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