- Appearance
- Ardisia crenata is a small shrub that ranges from 2-6 ft. (0.6-1.8 m) in height.
- Foliage
- The evergreen leaves are leathery, dark-green and 4-8 in. (10-20 cm) long.
- Flowers
- The flowers are on stalks. They are small, pink to white in axillary clusters usually drooping beneath the foliage. Blooms develop in the late spring and early summer.
- Fruit
- Fruit are rounded drupes and bright red. Each fruit contains a single seed. The seeds are easily spread by birds and other wildlife.
- Ecological Threat
- Ardisia crenata thrives in shade and deep, rich soil, but can survive in any non-saturated soil. This plant is a native of Southeast Asia and was introduced into Florida as an ornamental around 1900. Readily invades hardwood hammocks and can form dense monocultures in the forest understory. Mature plants are usually surrounded by a blanket of seedlings. It has also been seen to invade scrub, sandhill, mesic flatwoods, hydric hammocks, bottomland forests, maritime ham-mocks, lake shores, and ruderal communities. (Wunderlin and Hansen 2004).
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