Casasia clusiifolia (Seven-Year Apple)

Native to southern Florida, Bermuda, the Bahamas and nearby Caribbean islands including Cuba, this evergreen shrub or small tree grows in coastal hammocks. Large, glossy leaves form a dense crown. Clusters of fragrant white flowers, sometimes pink-tipped, develop in the leaf axils. Male and female flowers occur on separate plants. Rounded to lemon-shaped fruits ripen slowly, changing from green to yellow and finally black and wrinkled. Numerous seeds are embedded in the dark pulp. The plant is cultivated as a hedge or specimen shrub. Photographed in Florida.