Buckwheat tree, black titi

Ptelea monophylla Lamarck in J. Lamarck and J. Poiret, Tabl. Encycl. 1: 336. 1792

Plants to 15 m, often forming dense stands. Leaves: petiole absent or relatively short; blade bluish white abaxially, green adaxially, elliptic to oblance-olate, 2.5-10 × 1.2-1.8 cm, coriaceous, base cuneate, narrowed to petiole, apex acute to obtuse or shallowly emarginate. Flowers fragrant; petals white or pink, 6-8 mm. Fruits 5-7 mm.

Flowering Mar-May. Acidic soils in seepage bogs ("hillside bogs," "pitcher-plant bogs"), along blackwater streams, depressions in pine savannas; 0-100 m; Ala., Fla., Ga., La., Miss., S.C.

The common name "buckwheat tree" alludes to the resemblance of the fruits with those of Fagopyrum (Polygonaceae). Cliftonia monophylla is a coastal plain endemic that forms dense patches of trees, except in sites that are burned frequently, where it is shrubby.