Guapira discolor

Blolly Guapira discolor

Blolly is a tough, medium-sized tree. It does well with minimal care. Blolly is found in coastal hammocks throughout the Caribbean region. It is less common in South Florida these days, since the coastal hammocks have been changed into something else. That doesn't mean it's too late to restore natural populations of blolly by using it in your landscaping.

I saw one a few years back, growing all by itself on the top of a bank of fill (affectionately called a "spoil pile") that had been dredged from a canal running through a mangrove area. The elevation was just high enough above sea level for the seed to germinate and develop into a hardy, 12-ft. tall specimen, alone in a community of red mangroves. It was a popular perch for herons and other wading birds.

With such fine salt-tolerance, it can be used in coastal landscaping projects, making an ideal component of naturalized screening. Use it to screen off the tennis court, pool pumps, or hide your neighbor's junk boat parts.

It will never needing trimming, but if you want, you can train it into a shade tree of thirty feet or more.


	At left, in the center of the photo, is our featured guest, about 14 feet tall. It shoots up quickly and the canopy starts to develop when the tree gets bigger.

Above, the fruit of the blolly, popular among birds. After taking this photo, I ate the fruit. While it may not replace the strawberry in human diet, it seems adequate for poor, tired, ragged, tattered, winged travelers that may come to roost.

The tree at left is about 15' high, and part of a naturalized screening that includes spanish stopper Eugenia foetida and gulf cord grass Spartina spartinae.