General Plant Information (Edit)
Plant Habit: Tree
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun
Full Sun to Partial Shade
Water Preferences: Mesic
Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 10a -1.1 °C (30 °F) to +1.7 °C (35 °F)
Maximum recommended zone: Zone 11
Plant Height: 20 feet
Plant Spread: 20 feet
Leaves: Evergreen
Other: may be irritating to some people
Fruit: Showy
Edible to birds
Other: edible to humans but have little flavor. The fruits are fragrant.
Flowers: Showy
Flower Color: Orange
Other: Deep red/orange
Bloom Size: 1"-2"
Flower Time: Late winter or early spring
Spring
Late spring or early summer
Summer
Late summer or early fall
Fall
Late fall or early winter
Underground structures: Taproot
Suitable Locations: Beach Front
Street Tree
Xeriscapic
Uses: Shade Tree
Flowering Tree
Will Naturalize
Edible Parts: Fruit
Wildlife Attractant: Bees
Birds
Butterflies
Hummingbirds
Resistances: Humidity tolerant
Drought tolerant
Salt tolerant
Propagation: Seeds: Provide light
Sow in situ
Other info: Easy to propagate by seed. Plant them & they will sprout. Not picky about depth.
Propagation: Other methods: Cuttings: Stem
Cuttings: Tip
Layering
Containers: Not suitable for containers
Miscellaneous: Tolerates poor soil

Image
Common names
  • Orange Geiger Tree
  • Geranium Tree
  • Scarlet Cordia
  • Anaconda
  • Broadleaf Cordia

Photo Gallery
Location: San Juan, Puerto Rico
Date: March 20th, 2024
Location: San Juan, Puerto Rico
Date: March 20, 2024
Location: Lee County, Fl.
Photo courtesy of Brian Ahern
Location: Praha
Date: 2011-04-24
Photo courtesy of:Michael Kesl
Photo by yogalban82
Location: Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida
Date: 2022-02-24
close-up of a flower cluster

Date: c. 1828
illustration from Anne Woodbury Wollstonecraft's 'Specimens of th
Location: Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida
Date: 2022-02-24
specimen tree in park
Location: Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida
Date: 2022-02-24
trunk
Location: Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida
Date: 2022-02-24
upper part of a small tree in a parking lot island
Location: BF House - Chesterfield, Mo. (MOBOT)
Date: 2009-09-29
Location: Southwest Florida
Date: May 2012

Date: 2008-06-23
J. M. Garg took this photo. See: http://garden.org/blogs/entry/27
Location: St. Lucia
Date: July 2022
Location: BF House - Chesterfield, Mo. (MOBOT)
Date: 9-28-09
Location: Southwest Florida
Date: May 2012
Location: Southwest Florida
Date: June 2012
Location: St. Lucia
Date: July 2022
Location: BF House - Chesterfield, Mo. (MOBOT)
Date: 2009-09-29
Comments:
  • Posted by jmorth (central Illinois) on Nov 16, 2014 11:30 PM concerning plant:
    C. sebestena is native to the American tropics, in Florida. The Geiger Tree (the plant's common name) is named after Key West wrecker John Geiger.
    The oval-shaped fruits are edible but not favorable. Leaves are also oval shaped. The colorful flowers promote the plant's use as an ornamental in gardens.
  • Posted by ILPARW (southeast Pennsylvania - Zone 6b) on Mar 6, 2022 1:19 PM concerning plant:
    Usually a small tree about 15 to 20 feet high that can get up to 30 feet high with a 6 inch diameter trunk, but can be a large shrub. Native to southern Florida, the Florida Keys, and the West Indies. It has simple, alternate, evergreen leaves that are cordate (heart-shaped) about 4 to 6 inches long, with coarse texture and rough to the touch. Trumpet-shaped orange flowers are about 1 to 2 inches long are borne in showy terminal clusters and liked by hummingbirds and other pollinators. The fruit is a white egg-shaped drupe (berry) about 1 to 1.5 inches long. The bark is brown and ridged & scaly. It is tolerant of dry, sandy soils and of alkaline soil reaction. It is occasionally used as a small ornamental tree, parking lot tree, or street tree in the Fort Lauderdale area of Florida.
  • Posted by flaflwrgrl (North Fl. - Zone 8b) on Sep 1, 2012 2:21 PM concerning plant:
    The Orange Geiger tree is truly spectacular! In Fl. it is covered with brilliant deep orange/red blooms most of the year & one can hardly contain a gasp when one spies it. A true delight to the eyes.
    It is subject to leaf drop when temps. dip low & frost hits it, but it takes several hours of frost to affect it & it quickly rebounds. It would be possible to grow this tree in zone 9, but it may be subject to being killed when those rare freezes occur.
    Orange Geiger takes salt spray very well & is a very drought tolerant tree. It will also withstand periodic flooding, but not poorly drained sites.
    I have seen specimens of Orange Geiger hold up quite well in hurricanes.
    It has erroneously been reported to be native to Florida, but in actuality it is native to the Bahamas & the Caribbean to Venezuela.
    Does well in poor soils with no supplementation.
    The Geiger beetle can temporarily defoliate the tree, but rarely if ever kills it.

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