Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Ericales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Sideroxylon tenax
FAMILY
Sapotaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Tough Bumelia at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Sideroxylon tenax
FAMILY
Sapotaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America
Sideroxylon tenax
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 149-01-002:
Bumelia tenax FAMILY Sapotaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Bumelia tenax
COMMON NAME:
Tough Buckthorn, Tough Bumelia, Tough Bully
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_845
)
Sam Pratt sbp_4040
October Charleston County SC
Leaves lustrous, coppery or golden below due to silky appressed hairs, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
Sam Pratt sbp_4040b
October Charleston County SC
Fruit an ellipsoid drupe-like berry 6-10mm long, subtended by persistent calyx, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
Sam Pratt sbp_4041
October Charleston County SC
Stubby spur shoots with clustered leaves are often produced on the branches, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
Sam Pratt sbp_4041b
October Charleston County SC
Leaves 3-7cm long, mostly oblanceolate, the tip rounded, per Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988).
)
Sam Pratt sbp_photo_5
October Charleston County SC
Bark brown, furrowed and narrow-ridged; inner bark reddish-brown, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Sideroxylon tenax
FAMILY
Sapotaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Sideroxylon tenax
FAMILY
Sapotaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Flora of North America
Sideroxylon tenax
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 149-01-002:
Bumelia tenax
FAMILY
Sapotaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Bumelia tenax
2322
Shrub
Perennial
Habitat: Maritime scrub, maritime forests, rarely somewhat inland in hammocks and FL scrub, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Uncommon in GA, rare in Carolinas
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
DOES THE PLANT HAVE "MILKY SAP"?
Has milky sap (latex)
IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
May be armed with spinose twig tips, spinose spur shoots, and/or nodal spines
LEAVES:
Deciduous to tardily deciduous
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
White
5-lobed calyx
5-lobed corolla
5 stamens & 5 staminodia, fused to corolla
Superior ovary
Bisexual
Flowers in axillary clusters
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Black
Drupe-like berry
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p513
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p248
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p118
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p317
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p224
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p326
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".