In the late fall or spring, it produces green or white flowers that bloom in clusters. You can smell the scent of turpentine which is why it is also called the Turpentine Tree. It has ovate to oblong leaflets that are only 4 inches long.

This big and sturdy tree has glossy green foliage that attracts birds, butterflies, and other insect pollinators. Kenneth Setzer is writer and editor at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.Gumbo Limbo Tree Propagation What You Need to Know About Gumbo Limbo Tree Natural predators seem to have reduced this whitefly, though it can still be found feeding from gumbo limbo, so avoid planting the tree near pools, driveways or patios that may suffer from staining. The whitefly’s honeydew excretion causes the sooty black mold that stains sidewalks, patios, cars and anything under the affected trees. Though immune to most pests, the gumbo limbo was recently a favorite of the rugose spiraling whitefly (Aleurodicus rugioperculatus). It’s been valued as incense by pre-Columbian, Mesoamerican cultures for centuries. The Burseraceae family has a long history, indeed prehistory, involving its resin and human cultures. The resin has also been used in varnishes and glue. I won’t go into the medicinal practices, but will say that different parts of these trees - resin, sap, leaves, bark, fruit, wood and their various extracts - have been used to treat inflammation, parasites, digestive issues and just about everything else. The gumbo limbo belongs to the Burseraceae family, also known as the torchwood or frankincense family, which has loads of ethnobotanical, medicinal and cultural uses. It’s a good candidate for habitat restoration because it is fast-growing (though non-invasive) and can tolerate most soil types. Once established, it requires no irrigation at all, nor additional nutrition. While it won’t tolerate longterm saltwater inundation, it does have a moderate tolerance to salt air, making it a great coastal tree. Gumbo limbo obviously thrives in our poor, alkaline soil. Some researchers claim that trees grown from seed survive hurricane winds more often than those grown from cuttings. The small red berries appear in clusters and are an important food for many birds, including winter migrants, not to mention squirrels. Their fruit, however, is much more showy, and equally important for wildlife. Flowers may appear all year, and though not necessarily attractive to us, bees rely on them as an important food source. The gumbo limbo’s flowers grow abundantly along panicles, but are small, greenish and inconspicuous. It may seem odd to see a bare tree in South Florida, but this is normal for the gumbo limbo in late fall or spring, and the leaf shedding is usually not complete.

Gumbo limbos are semi-evergreen, regenerating leaves seasonally or during drought conditions.

Stocky, older individuals develop a massive trunk several feet in diameter that swells after lots of rain, three or four thick lower limbs, and a canopy nearly as wide as the tree is tall. It can attain heights of about 50 feet or more. It is found in northern South America, the Caribbean and - in its northernmost range - here in Southeast Florida. Gumbo limbo (Bursera simaruba) belongs to a family of mostly tropical trees. Though it’s a common tree in most South Florida neighborhoods, gumbo limbo is one of the most important members of our hammock ecosystem and has an interesting tale to tell. It’s easy to dismiss that which is all around us, but ask anyone from outside South Florida what a gumbo limbo is, and chances are they’ll think it’s a Cajun soup.

Gumbo limbo tree daves garden