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Conocarpus erectus, commonly known as Buttonwood, is a small to medium-sized evergreen tree or large shrub typically growing 20-40 feet (6-12 m) tall, though it may remain shorter in exposed coastal conditions.
Growth Forms
It often forms a spreading crown with multiple trunks when growing in windy environments.
Trunk often short and branching
Bark gray-brown
Rough and fissured with age
Wood is hard and dense
Leaves
Simple and alternate
Oval to elliptic
1-4 inches long
Smooth-edged
Dark green and leathery
There is also a silver-leaved variety (often called Silver Buttonwood) with fine hairs giving the foliage a grayish appearance.
Flowers
Small and greenish
Inconspicuous
Produced in rounded clusters
Fruit
Distinctive round, brown-button-like seed heads
About 1 inch wide
Made up of many tiny seeds clustered together
The fruit structure gives the plant its common name.
Habitat
Coastal shorelines
Mangrove margins (often behind red, black, and white mangroves).
Salt flats, Sandy soils, Rocky shores, Dunes, and Human-altered coastal landscapes.
Buttonwood is typically found slightly inland from true mangroves and is often considered part of the mangrove ecosystem transition zone.
Distribution
Found throughout the Lucayan Archipelago, Florida, the Central and South America as well as Africa.
Ecological Importance
Salt tolerant; protects shorelines and provides nesting cover.
Helps stabilize shorelines and prevent erosion
Provides shelter for birds. Supports coastal biodiversity.
Tolerates salt spray and occasional flooding.
It acts as a buffer between mangroves and upland vegetation.
Cultural Notes
Wood historically used for fuel when smoking fish and barbequing because of the unique flavor it brings.
It was also used in boat construction due to its density and resistance to saline envirnoments.
Used in charcoal pronduction because of its density.
Commonly planted as a windbreak or hedge
Silver variety used ornamentally in landscaping.
Buttonwood is one of the toughest coastal trees in The Bahamas built to handle salt, wind, and poor soil.