General Plant Information (Edit)
Plant Habit: Tree
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun
Full Sun to Partial Shade
Soil pH Preferences: Slightly acid (6.1 – 6.5)
Neutral (6.6 – 7.3)
Slightly alkaline (7.4 – 7.8)
Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 10a -1.1 °C (30 °F) to +1.7 °C (35 °F)
Maximum recommended zone: Zone 11
Plant Height: 25 to 30 feet
Plant Spread: 20 to 35 feet
Leaves: Evergreen
Broadleaf
Fruit: Edible to birds
Other: 1/3 inch fleshy, oval to pear shaped, purple fruit. Fallen fruit can be a litter problem.
Fruiting Time: Late summer or early fall
Flowers: Showy
Flower Color: White
Other: Greenish-white to creamy-gray.
Bloom Size: Under 1"
Flower Time: Spring
Late spring or early summer
Underground structures: Taproot
Uses: Windbreak or Hedge
Provides winter interest
Shade Tree
Wildlife Attractant: Birds
Resistances: Pollution
Humidity tolerant
Drought tolerant
Salt tolerant
Containers: Not suitable for containers

Image
Common names
  • Pigeon Plum
  • Pigeon-plum
  • Tietongue

Photo Gallery
Location: Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida
Date: 2022-02-14
foliage
Location: Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida
Date: 2022-02-14
street tree still relatively young
Location: Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida
Date: 2022-02-14
trunk with still relatively young bark
Location: Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida
Date: 2022-02-14
black fruit
Comments:
  • Posted by ILPARW (southeast Pennsylvania - Zone 6b) on Mar 19, 2022 11:00 AM concerning plant:
    While visiting southern Florida in February 2022, I did see some Pigeon Plum trees planted in landscapes. One tree in a bed along the street and with a driveway had dropped some of its black fruit upon the pavements that caught my eye, so I took some photos. It is native to southern Florida and the West Indies. In landscapes it tends to be an upright and small tree, though it can become medium-sized. In nature it can get 30 to 40 feet, even to 60 feet. Its leaves are alternate, leathery, glossy, dark green, and curled along the margins. (They remind me of Smoketree leaves.) The leaf size varies from usually about 4 to 6 inches up to 12 inches on suckers. It bears tiny greenish-white flowers in hanging single spike-like clusters. It bears dark purple to black berries that are acidic and edible in the single clusters. It is fast growing and long-lived.

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