Package of 10 seeds Florida privet, Florida swampprivet Forestiera segregata General Landscape Uses: Accent shrub or small tree. Ecological Restoration Notes: A shrub along hammock especially along the coast. Description: Large shrub or small tree with a dense, irregular crown composed of many small trunks from crooked trunks. Bark pale or creamy, thin, smooth with many breathing pores (lenticels). Leaves dark green above, 3/4-2 inches long. Semi-deciduous, with the old leaves falling as the new flush of growth begins. Dimensions: Typically 8-15 feet in height in South Florida; to 17.5 feet in Florida. Often as broad as tall. Growth Rate: Moderate to fast. Range: Southeastern United States south to the Monroe County Keys; Bermuda and the West Indies. Very rare and scattered in the Monroe County Keys. Habitats: Hammocks and hammock edges; understory shrub in pine rocklands. Soils: Moist, well-drained sandy or limestone soils, with humusy top layer. Nutritional Requirements: Moderate; can grow in nutrient poor soils, but needs some organic content to thrive. Salt Water Tolerance: Low; does not tolerate long-term flooding by salt or brackish water. Salt Wind Tolerance: High; can tolerate moderate amounts of salt wind without injury. Drought Tolerance: High; does not require any supplemental water once established. Light Requirements: Full sun. Flower Color: Yellowish-green. Flower Characteristics: Semi-showy, in small clusters from the axils of the previous year's growth. Dioecious, with male and female flowers on different plants, or polygamodioecious, with a few flowers of the opposite sex or bisexual flowers on the same plant. Flowering Season: All year; peak in spring. Fruit: Black or dark purple drupe. Wildlife and Ecology: Provides significant food and cover for wildlife. Birds eat the fruits. Horticultural Notes: Can be grown from de-pulped seed. Cover with soil and place in full sun. Comments: This shrub grow readily in the garden from seed. Synonyms: plants with smaller leaves growing in the pine rocklands of Miami-Dade County have been described as a distinct species, F. pinetorum, or variety, F. segregata var. pinetorum.