2. Tabernaemontana divaricata (Linnaeus) R. Brown ex Roemer & Schultes in J. J. Roemer et al., Syst. Veg. 4: 427. 1819.
[F I]
Pinwheel flower
Nerium divaricatum Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 209. 1753
Shrubs or small trees, 0.5–3(–5) m. Leaves: petiole 3–10 mm, glabrous; blade narrowly elliptic to elliptic, 3–18 × 1–6 cm, membranous, base cuneate, often decurrent on petiole, margins revolute, apex acuminate, surfaces glabrous. Peduncles 0.5–8 cm, glabrous. Pedicels 3–20 mm, glabrous. Flowers: calyx lobes narrowly to broadly ovate, 2–3.5 mm, usually ciliate; corolla white, often with a yellow center, glabrous abaxially, eglandular-pubescent adaxially, tube 7–12 × 1–2.5 mm, throat 8–15 × 1.5–3 mm, lobes spreading, obliquely elliptic to obovate or dolabriform, 15–27 × 8–20 mm. Follicles orange, red, or occasionally green, 2–7 × 0.6–1.5 cm. Seeds 2–10, 7–8 × 3–4 mm, aril orange or red. 2n = 22.
Flowering summer; fruiting summer–fall. Pine flatwoods; 20–30 m; introduced; Fla.; Asia.
Tabernaemontana divaricata is often grown as an ornamental in Florida but has apparently escaped and become naturalized in only a small area of Osceola County.
