BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Cyrilla racemiflora | Cyrilla 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Cyrilla is a thicket-forming, tall, semievergreen shrub or small tree
growing to a height of 30 feet (9 m) [7,12,14].  It typically has a
short trunk with spreading, irregular branches and a wide, even crown.
Its narrow, long, elliptical leaves are semipersistent, alternate, and
clustered at the twig tips.  The bark is thin and smooth.  The perfect
flowers are in narrow racemes near the tips of the twigs and open in the
spring before new leaves appear.  The fruit is a two-celled capsule with
two seeds in each capsule [8,27,33].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Phanerophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Cyrilla can reproduce sexually from seed, but most seeds do not
germinate.  Its primary mode of reproduction is by vegetative sprouting
from adventitious buds on the roots following disturbance [6,17].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Cyrilla is usually restricted to low elevation areas along streambanks,
river swamps, and bottomlands [3,7].  Cyrilla grows well where moisture
is abundant and fairly permanent [6,10].

Common tree associates of cyrilla include sweetbay (Magnolia
virginiana), blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica), sweetgum (Liquidambar
styraciflua), flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), sassafras (Sassafras
albidum), loblolly-bay (Gordonia lasianthus), and red maple (Acer
rubrum).  Common understory associates include gallberry (Ilex glabra),
yaupon (I. vomitoria), southern bayberry (Myrica cerifera), zenobia
(Zenobia pulverulenta), swamp-bay (Persea borbonia var. pubescens), and
myrtle-leaved holly (I. myrtifolia) [2,16,26,35].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Cyrilla grows well under full sunlight and can survive under a closed
canopy [6].  Cyrilla is an early invader of disturbed sites.  It
eventually crowds out shade-intolerant species and becomes part of the
dominant overstory [23,36].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Cyrilla flowers appears from early May through July; the fruit ripens
from late August through early October [27,33].

Related categories for Species: Cyrilla racemiflora | Cyrilla