Conocarpus erectus sericeus ‘Silver Leaf ‘

Silver buttonwood is a variety of buttonwood that usually grows as a low branching shrub with several trunks, but under ideal conditions silver buttonwood can become a handsome vase-shaped tree up to 50 ft (15.2 m) tall with a 20 ft (6.1 m) spread. The evergreen leaves are oblong to lance-shaped, 2-4 in (5.1-10.2 cm) long and arranged alternately. Whereas typical buttonwood has glabrous (hairless) leaves, the leaves of silver buttonwood are covered with a dense mat of silky hairs which imparts a beautiful silver-gray color to the plant. The flowers are inconspicuous but the fruit clusters are rather showy brownish-red cone-like buttons, each containing many tiny fruits. The cultivar, ‘Momba’, has a very dense crown and is smaller.