Foliage when crushed smells like citrus. This small tree has an elegant appearance that makes it suited to use as a specimen plant. The glossy evergr , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Moderate. Tolerant of salty wind and may get some salt spray. Exposure to salt spray wo , Considertions, Potentially subject to laurel wilt disease. , Wildlife, Wildlife food plant. , Habitat, Tropical hammocks. This is naturally an understory tree and also as a colonizer of disturbed sites. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Interesting foliage Insect pollinated.  Said to be a good honey plant (Haehle and  Brookwell 1999).

Foliage fragrant when crushed. Bayberry is an actinorhizal plant: its roots feature nitrogen fixing nodules formed in symbiosis with the nitrogen fixi , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, Clonal: it usually sends up sprouts from its roots to form thickets. The wood is somewhat brittle, but it will grow back if cut to the ground. , Wildlife, Fuits are eaten by birds, especially yellow-rumped warblers (which are very efficient at digesting the waxy fruits), in the fall and winter (NC State , Habitat, Wet sites. Bogs, swamps, flatwoods depressions, cutthroat seeps. , Did You Know?, Aroma, fragrance, Interesting foliage It is a host plant for the Red-banded Hairstreak butterfly  (NC State Extension Service)