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Fruit and foliage
| Chittamwood, Gum Bumelia, Woolybucket Bumelia, Gum Elastic, Wooly Buckthorn, Gum Woolybucket, Wooly Bumelia, False Buckthorn, Shittamwood, Ironwood, Coma
Bumelia lanuginosa
Sapotaceae
Chittamwood is usually found in open woods or along fence rows in all areas of Texas except the High Plains. The nearly evergreen leaves are thick and usually dark green on the upper surface, and white, gray, or tan underneath because of the numerous hairs. The inconspicious white flowers are borne in early to mid-summer in small clusters from the leaf axils and have a sweet and penetrating odor. One-inch-long, oval, blue-black berries ripen in the fall and are a good source of food for wildlife. The twigs are often armed with thorns at the tips. Children of early pioneers sometimes chewed the sap that oozed from cracks and wounds in the bark.
Plant Habit or Use: small tree
Exposure: sun
partial sun
Flower Color: white clusters
Blooming Period: summer
Fruit Characteristics: blue to black berries
Height: to 80 ft.
Width: to 50 ft.
Plant Character: evergreen
Heat Tolerance: high
Water Requirements: low
Soil Requirements: adaptable
USDA Hardiness Zone: 5
Additional Comments:
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