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Gopher Apple
Licania
michauxii Prance
(lie-CAN-ee-a
mi-CHO-zee-eye)
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Photo by M & M Bogan
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Photo by A Swindal
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General:
A colonial, evergreen
shrub, Gopher Apple grows mostly by underground stems. The tips
of its above ground branches conduct photosynthesis and
reproduce. It occasionally grows to 4 dm. (16 in.) tall. It
provides a bright green ground cover when many other plants appear
brown from drought. Its attractive white flower clusters bloom
over an extended period. The reference to “gopher” in the common
name refers to its underground growth habit.
The fruit provides food for a wide variety of wildlife, and it is being used in cancer research.
Flowers/Fruit:
The terminal clusters of tiny white flowers are seen most frequently in late spring and throughout summer.
By late summer oval
fruits, 2-3 cm (1-1 ½ in.) long, begin to ripen. The cream
to pink colored drupes are enjoyed by most wildlife that live in the
area, but are favorites of the gopher tortoise. The sweet fruit
is edible by humans, but it has a rather large seed with only a thin
layer of pulp.
Leaves/Stems:
Alternate, simple,
entire, shiny above and sometimes downy beneath, the leaves sometimes
have wavy margins. The oblong leaves are yellow green in color,
often showing up quite brightly in patches of brown grass in the dry
springtime.
The above ground stems are slender, upright, and rarely over 3 dm. (1 ft.) high. The main stems are underground.
Distribution:
Gopher Apple is common
throughout most sandhills in the peninsula of Florida, and along the
coastal plain from Mississippi to Georgia.
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