Leitneria floridana aka Corkwood

Leitneria floridana, or corkwood, is a deciduous shrub or small tree. It belongs to the Simaroubaceae family. Kew places its native range from Georgia to Florida. Plants For A Future lists it in Arkansas, Missouri, and Texas too. It grows beside swamps and on other wet ground. Its habitats include wet thickets, ditches, marshes, and tidal shores. Some sites have muddy, salty soil.

Corkwood has an upright form and spreads by root suckers. These shoots can form large patches of linked plants. Plants For A Future gives a height of 20 feet [6 metres]. Virginia Tech records plants reaching 25 feet [7.6 metres]. The bark is dark brown, with clear lenticels. Young twigs have gray-brown hairs and yellow-brown, scaly buds. The leaves grow alternately along the stems. Each leaf has a plain edge and an oval-to-lance shape. Leaves reach 0.75 feet [0.23 metres] long. Their upper sides are glossy dark green. Dense gray hairs cover the undersides.

Flowers open before the leaves in early spring. Chicago Botanic Garden gives March to April as the bloom season. It lists the flower color as red. Male and female flowers grow on separate plants. Both form catkins up to 0.125 feet [0.038 metres] long. Seed production needs plants of both sexes. The fruit is a light brown drupe with leathery skin. It reaches about 0.063 feet [0.019 metres] long. Seeds ripen from May through July.

Grow corkwood in sun or partial shade. It needs humus-rich soil with plenty of moisture. It accepts sand, loam, clay, and poor drainage. Mildly acid to neutral soil suits it. Plants For A Future calls for soil without lime. Plants in Britain can take somewhat drier ground than wild plants. They still need ample moisture. Chicago Botanic Garden lists USDA zones 5–9. Plants For A Future notes that British hardiness varies by site.

Corkwood suits wet gardens, woodland edges, screens, and hedges. Allow space for its root suckers to spread. Its soft, light wood has served for floats. Plants For A Future lists no known food or medicinal uses. It also reports no known hazards, but gives no detailed safety assessment. The supplied sources name no specific pests or diseases.