This large tree is native to southern and central Florida and it is a popular street and shade tree in landscapes there. It is also native to the West Indies, Central America, and Mexico. Its leaves are alternate, compound 6-8 inches long and divided into opposite 3 inch long leaflets of 3 to 9 with sharp pointed tips and uneven bases. It bears small greenish flowers in 2 to 5 inch long spikes in winter and spring. It bears reddish leathery capsules about 5/16th inches long containing 1 to 2 triangular bony seeds. The bark is mostly smooth, lustrous, tan to reddish bronze with some thin papery scales; eventually able to be a shaggy bark on old trees. It likes moist, well-drained soil being acid or slightly alkaline. It is a fast growing tree and moderately long-lived of 100 to 200 years.

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