Saffron Plum
Sideroxylon celastrinum
A thorny, densely twiggy shrub or small tree of Texas and Florida brushland, valuable precisely because the armament makes impenetrable cover for nesting birds. Small fragrant flowers along the stems are heavily worked by bees, and the blue-black plums are eaten by everything. Thoroughly drought- and salt-tolerant.
- Family
- Sapotaceae
- Type
- tree
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 8–20 ft
- Spacing
- 8–15 ft apart
- Light
- part shade
- Soil moisture
- dry
- Soil pH
- neutral
- Bloom
- May, June, July, August, September, October, November
- Bloom colors
- white, green
- Wildlife value
- songbirds, butterflies, pollinators
- Landscape uses
- hedge or screen, erosion control, naturalizing
- Native states
- FL, TX