Tear shrub

Shrubs or small trees, 1–5 m. Stems yellowish to light gray, furrowed; latex milky. Leaves: petiole 4–5 mm; blade obovate-elliptic or oblong-lanceolate, 2.5–10 × 1.2–3 cm, subcori­aceous, base broadly acute to obtuse, margins entire, apex acuminate, surfaces glabrous. Peduncle 8–20 mm, glabrous. Pedicels 4–8 mm, gla­brous. Flowers: calyx lobes acute, 0.7–1.5 mm, gla­brous; corolla tube 6–7 mm, abaxial surface puberulent below insertion of stamens, adaxial surface glabrous, lobes spreading, oblong, 3–5 × 1.2–1.6 mm, glabrous; androecium inserted 1.5 mm below orifice, 1–1.5 × 0.5–0.7 mm; gynoecium ovoid, 1.5 mm; style 2 mm; stigma 0.5 mm. Drupes indehiscent, oblong-ovoid, 10–12 × 5–8 mm (3–4 mm wide when dry), glistening.

Flowering and fruiting year-round. Rockland hammocks, coastal berms; 0–200 m; Fla.; Mexico; West Indies (Bahamas, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Jamaica).

Vallesia antillana, now known in the flora area only from a few populations in Monroe County including the Florida Keys, is recognized as an endangered state species (G. D. Gann et al. 2002). It is sparingly cultivated in southern Florida. In the Bahamas, the species is used to treat gastrointestinal problems.