Black Torch
Erithalis fruticosa
Black Torch, which is a member of the Gardenia family, has clusters of small fragrant flowers followed by green fruit that turns white and finally black before drying and falling. The local birds will eat these berries before that happens.
The fruit are sweet and bitter; I don’t recommend eating them as they most likely will cause a belly ache. The evergreen oval leaves are light green and around three inches long. They remind me of Azalea leaves.
Black Torch needs moderately moist soil with some organic matter and tolerates brackish water and moderate salt spray. It grows naturally in the Florida Keys near the ocean.
Black Torch does well along the coast and close to the intracoastal farther north to Martin County. The growth rate is around two feet a year and it forms a nice round shrub that is easy to keep between four and eight feet tall.
Plant this as a mass, or mix with other plants of the Keys like Jamaica Caper, Blackbead, Wild Coffee, Marlberry, Joewood, Lignum Vitae, Snowberry, Coontie, Cinnamon Bark and Myrsine.
To break up the texture, add the various Key Thatch Palms, Buccaneer Palm, Cinnecord and Pineland Acacia. Quailberry makes a natural groundcover along with Twinflower, Havana Scullcap and Pineland Snowberry.