![]() ![]() Many people refer to the gumbo limbo as the tourist tree, due to its resemblance to someone who stayed out in the sun too long. The gumbo limbo produces a dark red elliptic fruit (about ½ inch long), a favorite food of kingbirds, flycatchers and other birds. The common name comes from the Spanish “goma elemi”, describing the sticky sap. It drops its leaves in early spring and during dry spells. The gumbo limbo, a member of the Burseraceae family, is in the genus Bursera. Similar Species: The leaves could possibly be confused with Poisonwood ( Metopium toxiferum), but the red-brown flaking bark is quite distinctive.Ĭomments: The bark of Gumbo Limbo is reportedly used as an herbal medicine in the Bahamas, Mexico, and Central and South America to treat skin disorders, and it is steeped to produce a tea to treat various internal maladies. Habitat: Gumbo-Limbo is an important canopy tree in hammocks and is widely planted in south Florida as a very attractive ornamental. Tea from the leaves may have anti-inflammatory properties.Leaves: Alternate, once-compound, with 3 to 9 ovate to elliptic leaflets with sharp pointed apices.īark: Copper-colored, with green undertones, flaky smoother on some specimens.įlowers: Small, white, in clusters along the branches spring to summer.įruits: Green to reddish brown, three-sided, to 1 cm, with a single white seed inside a red fleshy covering held in open, short clusters along the branches from fall to winter. Watson2 INTRODUCTION This large semievergreen tree, with an open, irregular to rounded crown, may reach 60 feet in height with an equal or wider spread but is usually seen smaller (25 to 40 feet tall and 25 to 30 feet wide) in landscape plantings (Fig. Medicinally, the resin can be used to treat gout. Which is why in Central America the cut limbs are planted as fence posts, which immediately start growing Small branches quickly root and grow into sizeable trees in a few years. He laughs as he shows us the gumbo- limbo tree that he calls the tourist tree because of its red peeling and blistered bark. The bark is shiny dark red, and the leaves are spirally arranged and pinnate with 7-11 leaflets, each leaflet broad ovate, 410 cm long and 25 cm broad. Plantings also can be started by sticking a piece into the ground. Bursera simaruba is a small to medium-sized tree growing to 30 meters tall, with a diameter of one meter or less at 1.5 meters above ground. ![]() However, when a tree falls, it usually resprouts from a broken branch on the ground. But they will topple, which has been evident at the Gumbo Limbo Trail in the Everglades since Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Gumbo-limbo is also considered one of the most wind-tolerant trees, and it is recommended as a rugged, hurricane-resistant species in south Florida. Those qualities combined with the considerable girth the trees normally have once made them a favorite for fashioning carousel horses. Tall and stately as these trees appear, wood from the gumbo limbo is surprisingly lightweight and easy to carve. The main fruiting season in South Florida is March and April. Maybe you have palm trees that have the new Spiral Whitefly, Rugose Spiraling Whitefly, or Gumbo Limbo Spiraling Whitefly. The green leaves are arranged in spirals and some fruit is year-round. It is also considered one of the most wind-tolerant trees in south Florida and is recommended as a good, hurricane-resistant species. It adapts to a variety of habitats, from dry to moist, and is fairly salt-tolerant. On Sale now in 3 gallon pots, about 6 feet tall, only 10. Gumbo-limbo is a tropical tree that is native to the southeastern United States. They’re sometimes called “the tourist tree” because the peeling red bark resembles the skin of so many first-time South Florida visitors. Most seen in home landscapes are around 25 or 30 feet tall, though the tree can reach 40 feet. The tree has a distinctive shiny red bark that looks like it is constantly peeling. The trunk is topped by massive branches which spread out at side angles and have many low and spreading stout branches. It is a medium to fast growing 40 to 50 foot, semi-deciduous tree. The tall tropical gumbo limbo tree ( Bursera simaruba) grows from South Florida into Mexico, the Caribbean south to Brazil and Venezuela. Gumbo Limbo, Bursera simaruba, is also known as Tourist Tree and Sun Burn Tree for its coppery, sunburned looking bark. ![]()
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