Geobalanus oblongifolius explained

Geobalanus oblongifolius, commonly known as gopher apple,^[1] is an evergreen shrub. It grows in America within the sandhills of peninsular Florida as well as coastal Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, South Carolina and Georgia.^[2]

Its fruit is eaten by wildlife and is being used in cancer research.^[3] The fruit is a food source for the gopher tortoise and many other species of wildlife.

It was originally published as Licania michauxii by British botanist G.T. Prance in J. Arnold Arbor. vol. 51 on page 526 in 1970. It was renamed as Geobalanus oblongifolius by (Michx.) Small and re-published in Fl. Miami: 81 (1913). Although it is still known by its former name in some sources.

Other sources

• Prance, G. T. 1972. Chrysobalanaceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 9:42-43.
• Wunderlin, R. P. 1998. Guide to the vascular plants of Florida

Notes and References

1. Web site: Taxon: Licania michauxii Prance . Grin . 29 January 2023.
2. Web site: Geobalanus oblongifolius (Michx.) Small Plants of the World Online Kew Science . Plants of the World Online . 28 January 2023 . en.
3. Web site: Gopher Apple . 2011-05-04 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080724184948/http://www.ffgc.org/horticulture/native/gopherapple.html . 2008-07-24 .