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Gumbo Limbo
Bursera simaruba
Fast-growing canopy tree, getting up to 50'+.
The trunk is a striking color, with red, ex-foliating bark. Gumbo
limbo loses its leaves for a brief period of time in Feb-March, with new growth
coming quickly. So, for most of the year, you can relax in the luxurious
shade it will provide.
Gumbo limbo is one of the most familiar trees
throughout the Caribbean, Keys and Florida region. It goes by
different aliases, such as spirit gum, birch gum, or tourist tree (because of
its red, peeling skin).
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Gumbo limbo may be considered a mundane choice in
landscaping, since it is fairly common. But its popularity is
well-deserved because it's
an excellent tree. There's always room for a gumbo. |
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In days past, the resin from the gumbo limbo was used to make
turpentine and varnish. When someone sprained an ankle or pulled a muscle,
gumbo limbo resin was applied to the affected area. It's a good thing that
we can just go to
Walgreen's to get tiger balm, because I wouldn't know exactly how to go about
using gumbo limbo sap. I guess you just spread the sap on your skin
and stick some leaves to it, twice a day, with meals. Do not use
while operating machinery. |
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Cream-colored flowers are not showy. While there are
male and female flower-types, perfect flowers may occur on a single tree.
Fruits are tiny, hard, inedible things that, due to their red color,
attract the attention of birds. It is thought that the birds use the
fruits as grinding stones in their crops as an alternative to eating pebbles
off the ground. |
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Below left is a 30' high gumbo limbo in front of our office. There
is a bougainvillea planted at the base, which has been trained to climb up
the gumbo. Feel free to use this idea in your own design. As I said
earlier, there's always room for a gumbo. It makes a great anchor
plant in tropical combinations. |
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The next time you take the turnpike south through
Miami-Dade County to the Keys, and the kids are squirming and fussing in
the backseat, you can keep them occupied by seeing who counts the most
gumbo limbos along the road. |
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Cut off a branch, stick it in the
ground, and it will grow. People still make photosynthesizing fences by
planting a row of branches.
The four trees in the photo at left, now about 10' high, were 6' long
branches stuck in the ground 3 years ago. |
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Right, 3-gal., about 6' high. Below, 10-gal.,
8'-10' high. Below right,25-gal., 10'-12' high. |
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