Beauty Leaf, Santa Maria, Galba, Alexandrian Laurel, Mast Wood, Antilles Calophyllum, Calaba Tree

On the contrary to the above comments, my tree is beautiful and the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (U...Read MoreF/IFAS) found (updated 2006) quote "This upright, bushy, medium to coarse-textured evergreen tree is densely foliated with four-inch-long, leathery leaves. Although able to reach 50 feet in height in the forest, Santa Maria tends to be a slow-growing, moderately-sized tree about 30 to 40 feet tall with a 40 to 50-foot spread. It is well-suited for planting beneath power lines 40 feet high. Small, white, fragrant flowers appear on one to two-inch-long racemes among the four to six-inch-long, glossy leaves. Well-suited as a street, parking lot, patio or small shade tree, especially for coastal areas...does NOT attract wildlife...LITTLE invasive potential...the tree should be propagated, sold and planted in urban areas much more often."

Please do not base all of your knowledge on the findings of one organization.

This is an extremely invasive invader of coastal habitats in central and southern Florida (and also in the adjacent Bahamas southward int...Read Moreo the Caribbean). It is a small to medium or large tree from 15 to 35 feet tall. It may sometimes or often reach 40 feet or more. It has oval-shaped, rounded leaves, small white flowers and large, round, hard oval seeds (fruits). It is a single, one-trunked tree. The seeds are rapidly spread by birds to mangrove swamps, disturbed coastal sites, canalsides, vacant waterside lots, mangrove swamp edges, coastal ridges and other similar coastal habitats (often near water) in central and southern Florida, the Bahamas and Caribbean, where they sprout and quickly crowd out native species and produce seeds, continuing the process of altering native plant communities. It sometimes also invades inland habitats as well in central and southern Florida. In Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties (including the Keys) it is a severe pest and efforts are trying to eradicate or remove this species. It is a huge pest in parks and natural areas there. It has also become a pest in Palm Beach and Martin counties, where it is also spreading. It was brought in for cultivation to Florida in the 1900s, probably in the mid- to- late decades. It quickly became a popular landscape plant in central and southern Florida (I still see trees planted in recreation areas, parking lots, business offices, condos, yards, ect.). It has since become a pest, although it is sadly sometimes still sold for landscaping in central and southern Florida (zones 9b to 11). This species was also popular for landscaping in the Bahamas, Caribbean, and Bermuda. It has established in the wild (and become a pest) in all those areas. Dense seedling forests invade many areas under seed-producing trees (even far away from mature trees as well), further pushing out vegetation and rapidly spreading and growing.

This species is a Category One Invasive by the FLEPPC (Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council).

It is best left in it's native habitat and not planted in central and southern Florida.

MORE FACTS - The leaves are dark green and somewhat shiny to leathery. It is established in central and southern Florida (zones 9b to 11) in Martin, Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties (including the Florida Keys). This tree is also known as Maria of Cuba or Maria in Cuba. It is highly salt-tolerant. One habitat it commonly invades severely is mangrove swamps. In total, this tree is naturalized in Florida, the Bahamas, the Caribbean and Bermuda. The hard fruit (nuts or seeds), when ripe, are brown and hard.