• Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Donna Bollenbach

Sideroxylon tenax

tough buckthorn, tough bully

Nomenclature

Common Name:

tough buckthorn, tough bully

Synonym(s):

Bumelia tenax

Genus species:

Sideroxylon tenax

Family:

Sapotaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

tree

Size:

12-30 ft tall by to 20 ft wide

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

white

Fruit Color:

black

Phenology:

Evergreen (south) or deciduous (north). Flowers in summer. Fruits ripen in summer or fall. Life span 50+ yrs (Nelson 2003).

Noted For:

Thorns, Interesting Foliage

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Hedge plant, specimen plant, woodland plant. Plant where the silky brown/gold undersides of the foliage will be seen.

Considerations:

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Availability:

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Propagation:

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Light:

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Moisture Tolerance:

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

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Not wet but not extremely dry -to- 1Stays wet

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand

Soil pH:

Adaptable

Suitable to Grow In:

8A,8B,9A,9B,10A,10B

Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators, Butterflies, Birds, Mammals

Nectar plant for butterflies.





Attracts bees and flies.  A pollinator magnate.





Watching insects swarm over my tough bully trees is one of my summertime treats.

 Birds and other animals eat the fruit.

Native Habitats:

Sandhill, scrub.

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

General Comments:

This plant is easy to grow.



Weak wood.