Identifying Characteristics
| Size/Form: | Commonly a small 8-15 feet tree or shrub, but can reach up to 30 feet tall |
| Leaves: | The leaves are palmately-compound, opposite, and deciduous. There are 5 (sometimes 7) leaflets per leaf. The leaflets are oval to elliptic in shape, with an acute apex and a tapered base. Leaf margins are irregularly serrate or doubly serrate. The leaf surfaces are dark green and glabrous or sparsely pubescent above, slightly paler below. Petioles are stout at the base, tapering slightly to the leaflets, and are 3-5 inches long. |
| Twigs: | The twigs are stout, dark reddish-brown, and pubescent at first, becoming gray and glabrous. The pith is small, white, and homogeneous. |
| Bark: | The bark is gray-brown or dark brown. light brown, flaky bark |
| Flowers: | The flowers are tubular, dark red, and very showy. They are borne in the springtime in upright panicles. |
| Fruit: | The fruit is a small, brown, leathery capsule, 1-2 inches in diameter. The seeds inside are bitter and poisonous. |
Similar Trees on the Florida 4-H Forest Ecology Contest List:
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