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Antilles calophyllum

Calophyllum antillanum · Clusiaceae

Antilles calophyllum (Calophyllum antillanum)
Photo: Michael Reck · CC BY-SA · via Wikimedia Commons

Antilles calophyllum (Calophyllum antillanum) is a perennial tree in the Clusiaceae family. It is native to North America. USDA records it as hardy in zone 10 and warmer, down to about 36°F.

At a glance

Typetree Derived
Lifecycleperennial USDA
Native statusnative USDA
Mature height65 ft USDA
Lightpart-shade USDA
Water needlow USDA
Growth rateslow USDA
Soil pH5–7 USDA
BloomMay–June USDA
Flower colorOrange USDA
Hardiness zones10 and warmer USDA
Guild layercanopy Derived
Nursery availabilityRoutinely Available USDA

USDA quoted from the USDA PLANTS database · Derived computed by a fixed rule from those columns. No value on this page is estimated.

Growing conditions

It grows in partial shade. USDA rates it as having low water needs once established. Its drought tolerance is rated medium. It will not tolerate waterlogged soil — USDA rates its anaerobic tolerance as none. It is recorded on soils from pH 5 to 7 — a broad range that spans acidic through mildly alkaline ground. Its cold limit is zone 10.

Size and growth

At maturity it reaches about 65 ft, making it a large tree that will dominate its site. It grows slowly.

Bloom period

USDA records a bloom period of May through June. Flowers are orange.

A flowering date, not a pollinator rating.

Foliage, flower and season

Summer foliage is green, medium in texture. Its flowers are conspicuous. Its active growth period is spring, summer, fall. Its winter foliage is dense, which makes it useful for year-round screening. USDA rates its lifespan as moderate.

What the site needs to provide

USDA records it across sites receiving 39 to 197 inches of annual precipitation. It needs at least 365 frost-free days to finish its season. It roots to at least 40 inches, too deep for containers or thin soil over bedrock. Fertility requirement: medium.

Propagating it

Propagate it from seed and container stock. USDA records no cold-stratification requirement, so seed should germinate without a chilling period. Its seed spreads at a slow rate. It does not spread vegetatively, so it will stay where you put it.

Resilience and wildlife

Browsing animals rate it barely palatable — the sourced basis for calling it deer-resistant. Its fire tolerance is rated none. Its growth form is recorded as single stem.

Role in a guild

Canopy. In a layered planting this is the tallest layer of a planting — it sets the light budget everything beneath it lives on. The layer is derived by a fixed rule from growth habit and mature height.

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Tags

evergreendrought-tolerantsalt-tolerantsandy-soildeer-resistantnativeslow-growingcanopy

Related plants

Others in Calophyllum

Where this data comes from

Every value on this page comes from the USDA PLANTS database record for symbol CAAN22, or is computed from those values by a fixed rule. Nothing here is estimated or model-generated. Where USDA publishes no value, this page omits the claim rather than filling the gap.

Read our full data sources and methodology.

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