What's Blooming

Silver Buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus var. sericeus)

Uncommon in the wild, the silver buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus var. sericeus) is so popular in cultivation for its soothing silvery foliage, that the green-leaved variety of this species (Conocarpus erectus var. erectus) has come to be called 'green buttonwood' to differentiate it from the silver variety! A dense coat of fine white hairs covers both sides of green buttonwood leaves, reflecting the sunlight in a green-gray sheen.

Native to the coasts of tropical America from Florida through the Caribbean and West Indies, this species can form dense, multi-trunked, shrubby thickets or grow as a tree up to 20m in height.

Native to the coasts of tropical America from Florida through the Caribbean and West Indies, this species can form dense, multi-trunked, shrubby thickets or grow as a tree up to 20m in height.

Instead, the silver buttonwood has rounded flower heads covered in tiny, whitish florets that are said to smell intensely of artificial grape! Cute as a button, the maroon-tinged, conical, button-like fruit clusters give the genus both their botanical name: Conocarpus means ‘cone-like fruit,’ and their common name of 'buttonwood’.

Instead, the silver buttonwood has rounded flower heads covered in tiny, whitish florets that are said to smell intensely of artificial grape! Cute as a button, the maroon-tinged, conical, button-like fruit clusters give the genus both their botanical name: Conocarpus means ‘cone-like fruit,’ and their common name of 'buttonwood’.

Come relax with this soothing silvery tree in Serene Garden and Silver Garden!

This article is part of our What's Blooming series.