Plant: shrub; 1-3 m high, dioecious or rarely polygamodioecious; bark rough; young branches sparsely puberulent

Leaves: simple, essentially sessile, linear to oblanceolate, 3.5-10 cm long, 0.3-1.5 cm wide, gradually tapering to the base, coriaceous, subglabrous, with flat glands, the margins with scattered short straight hairs, very slightly revolute; midvein prominant; lateral veins obscure above, weakly evident below

INFLORESCENCE: usually racemose, sparsely puberulent, 6-14 mm long; bracts 2-5 mm long

Flowers: pale yellow, 3-5 mm wide; pedicels 5-12 mm long; sepals 4-5, 1-3 mm long, lanceolate, elliptic-ovate, acute, glabrous or the margins ciliate; ovary in pistil-bearing flowers viscid, the gynophore 1 mm long; stamens in stamen-bearing flowers (5-)8-10(-12), the filaments 0.5 mm long, the anthers 1.5-2 mm long with a few setose hairs at the apex

Fruit: a (2-)3-4-winged capsule, light yellow-green to light golden to purple, 1-2.5 cm long, 1.4-2.2 cm wide, glandular, viscous, the wings radiating laterally, reniform, the locules central, about half as long and wide as the fruit. SEEDS dark reddish black to dark brown, smooth, oval, somewhat flattened, 0.3-0.5 mm wide

Misc: Drainages, canyonsides, and rocky slopes from Upper Sonoran Desert to desert grassland and chaparral; 500-1300 m (1700-4200 ft); (Jan.) Feb-Oct. (-Dec.)

REFERENCES: Salywon, Andrew. 1999. Sapindaceae. Ariz. - Nev. Acad. Sci. 32(1).

Common Name: Florida hopbush

Duration: Perennial

Nativity: None

Lifeform: Tree

Wetland Status: FACU

General: Shrub or small tree, 1-3 m tall with viscid foilage.

Leaves: Linear-oblanceolate, narrow, entire, 5-9 cm long, 4-8 mm wide, covered in sticky resin and shiny above, slightly dull beneath; on short petiole.

Flowers: Inconspicuous, lacking petals; most flowers unisexual; on slender pedicels 3-6 mm long, gland-dotted; sepals oblong, 2-2.5 mm long, greenish white, anthers about equaling sepals; most plants monoecious, some dioecious.

Fruits: Samara, 3-4 winged, 11-13 mm long and 15-20 mm in diameter.

Ecology: Found on rocky or gravelly slopes, along arroyos, in canyons and often on limestone from 2,000-5,000 ft (610-1524 m); flowers February-October.

Notes: Evergreen viscid leaves and multiple winged samaras help to clearly distinguish this plant.

Ethnobotany: Used to treat inflammations, swellings, rheumatism, pain, and used as a ceremonial medicine. Active saponin compounds are considered poisonous, however, this plant was widely used as an external medicine.

Etymology: Viscosa means sticky.

Synonyms: Many, see Tropicos, in our region the most relevant is D. angustifolia

Editor: SBuckley, 2010