Inkwood fruit is great food source for birds
The inkwood (Exothea paniculata) is a large shrub to a small tree. It starts out quite wide and bushy with many upright branches and develops a nice tall canopy reaching 25 feet to 35 feet tall. It is evergreen and has dense foliage making it a nice addition to a home landscape. The small flowers are clustered and have a delightful fragrance, with blooming mostly in the spring. The tree is native to southern Florida. It is drought and salt spray tolerant but cannot handle saltwater inundation. The inkwood is also dioecious, which means like a holly tree, each plant is either a male or female and only the female produces fruit. The fruit is a great source of food for birds in late spring and summer. The inkwood is in the Sapindaceae family, which includes maple, carrotwood, varnish leaf and soapberry. The soapberry tree and varnish Leaf are also dioecious.
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