Joewood
Jacquinia keyensis

The fragrance of the small white flowers is like freshly ground almonds and honey. Although they bloom for most of the year, the peak is late summer. The pea sized berries are a good wildlife food and turn gold when ripe.

This is a very slow growing shrub with one to three inch stiff oval leaves. The trunk can be kept straight or allowed to curve naturally.

This plant is found naturally in the Keys between the moist saline calcic soils of the mangroves and the richer hammock upland soils. It needs full sun to part shade and tolerates salt air and short term salt water flooding. It may need water during a prolonged drought.

It has done well in Palm Beach County, even when temperatures dipped near freezing for several nights. Soil should be well drained with a moderate amount of organic matter and slow release fertilizer to keep it growing.

This is a plant with character and makes an interesting addition to a "Keys" themed planting. Mix with rhacoma, lignum vitae, chapman's cassia, silver buttonwood, quailberry, beach creeper, gumbo limbo, myrsine, coontie, sea oxeye daisy, pineland acacia and coastal wildflowers.