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Conocarpus erectus var. sericeus,
Silver Buttonwood

Buttonwood is ideal for seaside plantings as it is highly tolerant of full sun, sandy soils, and salty conditions. It also tolerates brackish areas and alkaline soils, thriving in the broken shade and wet soils of hammocks. This is a tough tree! It withstands the rigors of urban conditions very well and makes a durable street or parking lot tree. Due to its small size, plant on 15-foot centers to form a closed canopy over a sidewalk along a street.

Purchase single-trunked trees for street and parking lot plantings. Help prevent sprouting at the base of the trunk by training trees to a single trunk when they are young in the nursery. Sprouting is often a bigger problem if multiple trunks are allowed to develop and then they are pruned off to form a single trunk. Trees are tough and long-lasting in the landscape. Old plants grow to 30 feet tall and 45 feet wide.

The wood of Buttonwood was used for firewood, lumber, cabinet work, and charcoal making and is a perfect wood for smoking meats and fish. The tree usually develops included bark in branch unions of major branches but the wood is considered strong enough to compensate for this defect to a certain degree.

Cape Canaveral along the coast to Key West and Bradenton. Often seen with mangroves growing near water.