Family: Burseraceae

Form: Semi-evergreen or briefly deciduous tree, reaching 80 x 35 feet, with an open, irregular canopy

Leaves: Alternate, odd-pinnately compound leaves comprised of 3-9 entire ovate 3” leaflets. Leaves are shiny green above and paler below, 6-8” long, with short, often pink-red tinged petioles

Stem/Bark: Known as the “tourist tree” for its smooth shiny bark which peels off and flakes like skin, often revealing a different color beneath. The color varies from green to bronze to reddish brown

Flower: Insignificant, creamy to greenish white in 2-5” long axillary racemes

Fruit: In drupelike clusters, dark red, with 1/2” diameter elliptic berries. Berries split into 3 sections at maturity to reveal one or two .25-inch long triangular white seeds

Comments: Native to the tropical hammocks of coastal Florida