20 October 2023.
Santa Rosa County, Florida, United States
Locality: Santa Rosa Island: White Sands Blvd, Navarre Beach at Santa Rosa Sound, soundside.
Coordinates: 30.3784, -86.8978
(Map it)
Elevation: 5m.
Georeference protocol: Lat/lon determined by GPS
Environment description: Base of the first dunes off the sound. Slope: 15%. Aspect: North. Elevation: 15 feet.
Number of plants sampled: 3
Associated species: Magnolia grandiflora; Sideroxylon sp.; Smilax laurifolia; Chrysoma pauciflosculosa; Balduina uniflora; Schizachyrium maritimum; Froelichia floridana; Panicum amarum; Uniola paniculata.
Comment: Pensacola haw has a limited geographical range in northwestern Florida and maybe into adjacent Alabama. A true xeromorph; extremely xeric and drought adapted. Deciduous shrub to small tree, 6-15’ tall, trunks 4 to 6 inches in diameter. Bark grey, blocky, irregularly ridged, furrowed; more blackish with age. Form quite variable. Branches ascending or spreading to develop an open, round crown. Twigs have a distinct zig-zag pattern, tips drooping/weeping. In some areas, the branching is heavily upright, then cascading or weeping – similar to weeping yaupon. Leaves spathulate, obovate, some more rhombic-elliptic; bases cuneate; unlobed, or sometimes slightly lobed subterminally. Fruit a 1/2” suborbicular pome, yellowish, orangish, blushed red, with 3 seeds. Common in range, but uncommon in this dune system. Seed collected from 3 plants.
Collector(s):