Common name: White titi

White titi or Beetwood is a flowering shrub or tree native to the Americas. Its natural range extends from the southern United States, through Central America and the Caribbean, to northern parts of South America.

In the cool, northern extremes of its range, it is typically a shrub or small tree 2 to 5 m (7 to 17 ft) tall, with exceptional specimens up to 10 m (33 ft). In tropical areas, it is more typically a tree 10 to 20 m (33 to 66 ft) tall.

It develops a low branching structure with peeling, reddish bark and an irregularly shaped crown in tree form. The leaves are glossy green with a long oval shape and are arranged alternately in clusters at the ends of the branches.

The flowers are white, small or insignificant but are in long, showy cat-tail-like clusters that bloom from spring to summer and give off a sweet fragrance. Depending on local conditions, there may also be light blooms on and off at other times of the year.

Use

It is occasionally cultivated in gardens in the southern United States, mainly as a native ornamental and for its showy flowers and their sweet fragrance.

The wood is light- to medium-weight, with a density of around 530 kilograms per cubic meter (33 lbs per cubic ft), classifying it as a softwood. It is highly susceptible to termites and other wood-boring insects, and the sawn timber tends to warp, limiting its use in construction. However, it is reportedly well-suited for materials and parts used in underwater construction, such as buried pilings used in the construction of bridges, piers and docks. The small-diameter roundwood is cut for making charcoal. 

Large trees in natural forests tend to develop hollow trunks that serve as important habitats for wildlife, particularly endangered parrot species in its native range.

The nectar produced by the flowers is reportedly toxic to honeybees due to the presence of alkaloids. 

Climate

Grows as a tree in humid tropical mid- to high-elevation climates, generally areas with annual lows of 10 to 21°C, annual highs 20 to 30°C, annual rainfall of 1200 to 4000 mm and a dry season of 4 months or less.

Growing

New plants are usually started from suckers taken from a parent plant. It performs best on moist, slow-draining, permanently wet soils of an acid to slightly acid nature, generally with a pH of 4.0 to 6.5, and on sites with partial to full sun exposure.

Problem features

This species is known to sprout suckers from its roots, which can be a gardening problem. There does not appear to be any records of its escape or naturalisation anywhere in the world.

Books

• Adams, C. D. 1972, Flowering plants of Jamaica, University of the West Indies, Mona, Greater Kingston

• Berni, C. A & Bolza, E. & Christensen, F. J. 1979, South American timbers - the characteristics, properties and uses of 190 species, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Division of Building Research, Highett, Victoria, Australia

• Francis, J. K. et al. 2000, Silvics of Native and Exotic Trees of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean Islands, Technical Report IITF-15, USDA Forest Service, Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico

• Iremonger, S. 2002, A guide to plants in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica, University of the West Indies Press, Kingston, Jamaica

• Little, E. L. et al. 1964 and 1974, Common trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands (2 volumes), Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Washington D.C.

• Reyes, G. 1992, Wood densities of tropical tree species, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment Station, New Orleans, Louisiana

Articles, Journals, Reports and Working Papers

• Sanford, Malcolm T ( Malcolm Thomas ), 1942- & Welch, Lin n.d., Florida bee botany ; Bee botany; Circular Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida