Sunday, July 18, 2010

By robin robinson Key West Garden Club

The native pigeon plum tree (Coccoloba diversifolia) is a close cousin of the sea grape (Coccoloba uvifera) and is a member of the buckwheat family, Polygonaceae.

This tree is a mensch, a real man. It doesn't show off with flashy flowers or spectacular seeds. It simply does its job in the forest with grace and order.

The pigeon plum likes to live in tropical hardwood hammocks. It is shaped like a pyramid when it's young, but soon sprouts new trunks almost parallel to each other.

The evergreen leaves are sometimes 2 to 4 inches long and other times 4 to 8 inches long, hence the name diversifolia, which means diverse foliage. Cocco means that the fruit "contains one seed." They are thick and generally oval-shaped. They sprout alternately from the branch in a simple pattern.

The shiny, dark-green leaves are densely packed on the tree making a compact shape up to 50 feet in height and 25 feet in width. They fall in early spring, but regrow immediately with red-tinged leaf sprouts.

The trunk of the tree, which resembles the sea grape, often has embedded or included bark formations. These do not weaken the stalwart tree. When the tree is mature, mottled grey bark peels away to a rust-colored under bark. Beautiful patterns emerge. I'm reminded of a subtle fabric for a man's suit jacket that is lined in rust-colored silk, not ostentatious, but classy.

The native tree is strong and break-resistant. It can be planted back from the salt spray but tolerates salty soil if it is well-drained. It is a perfect tree for our alkaline, nutrient-poor soil. It will thrive in full sun or partial shade.

The small, white flowers grow on 3-inch bracts and turn into a dark-purple fruit beloved by birds. These fruits are edible raw, dried or made into jelly or wine. They were an important food of the Miccosukee Indians.

This forest gentleman is happy to provide superb shelter for birds, food for bees and butterflies and even a scratching post for raccoons. It attracts the rare Schaus swallowtail butterfly (Heraclides aristodemus), the orange sulphur (Poebis agarithe), warblers, vireo, and the endangered white-crowned pigeon.

Inconspicuous, a third of an inch-long, purple fruit frequently appear mid-summer. The tree continues to flower and fruit year-round. There are both male and female trees.

Trees that are stressed out may be attacked by weevils. The best method to get rid of the weevils is to spray the tree with a powerful hose and knock them to the ground and their subsequent death. Even if the weevils destroy the leaves, the tree will come back.

The tree can be propagated from seed or by the use of cuttings. Its growth rate is moderate.

The lovely pigeon plum can be planted on streets, in parking lots, in native gardens, as a shade tree, near a deck or patio, a median strip, as buffer plantings, formal hedges or as a specimen tree. It will fit in the narrow spot between houses and provide shade. It can be planted in a pot on the patio and makes a beautiful shrub. It can be pruned into a single trunk as well. The state of Florida's Department of Agricultural and Consumer Services highly recommends this tree and suggests that it be planted more.

The national champion pigeon plum tree can be found at the back of the pond in the Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden on Stock Island. A 10-foot tree can be purchased for $200 at Mama's Garden Center, Mile Marker 9, Rockland Key.

This stately gentleman could elegantly grace any lawn from South Florida through the Caribbean.

The Key West Garden Club welcomes volunteers to pull weeds, learn to propagate plants with Kitty and Debbie and play in the sandy soil at West Martello from 9 a.m. to noon Mondays.

Master gardener Robin Robinson was a columnist at the Chicago Daily News and syndicated by Princeton Features. This column is part of a series developed by the Key West Garden Club, http://www.keywestgardenclub.com. A compilation of her columns, "Plants of Paradise," is available at the Garden Club.