Anaqua

Anaqua

(Ehretia anacua) The sub-tropical knockaway or anacua is a 20-45 ft., evergreen or partly deciduous northward tree, often with suckers or multiple trunks. Leaves evergreen, some falling seasonally, up to 4 1/2 inches long, mostly smaller, ovate or narrower, upper surface rough, margins smooth, tip pointed. Flowers in clusters at the ends of the branchlets, white, fragrant. Fruit fleshy, spherical, up to 5/16 inch in diameter, orange to dark yellow, edible. Older trees have reddish, flaking bark and gnarled, stocky appearance.

A popular ornamental in Texas, this species is hardy in dry areas and north to central Texas, where the plants may die back in cold winters. Wildlife consume the fruit, and the wood has served for fenceposts and tool handles. The name Anacua is from Anacahuite, a Mexican name for this and related species. That word is from two others of the Nahuatl language of the Aztecs meaning paper (amatl) and tree (cuahuitl), perhaps referring to the scaly peeling bark. The English name Knockaway is a corruption from the same source.

Leaf: Simple, alternate, 2" to 4" long and 1" to 2" wide, elliptical or oval in shape, leaf margin without teeth (or with faint teeth along top half), top surface the texture of sandpaper, lower surface pubescent with coarse veins. Leaves are dark green, turning black following a hard frost.

Flower: Short clusters of small, white, fragrant flowers appear at the tips of branches from late fall to early spring, attracting great numbers of bees.

Fruit: A round, berry-like drupe, 0.25" in diameter, yellowish to orange-red in color, fleshy, appearing mid-summer or fall. Very messy in high-traffic landscape settings.

Twig: Slender, bristly-hairy, buds are small, covered with 4 scales, olive-green to brown.

Bark: Gray to brown, very rough, thick, with deep furrows and flat ridges on older trees

Form: A suckering shrub or small tree to 50 feet, often with several wide-spreading trunks, becoming gnarled.

Range: In Central Texas, south to the Gulf coast and the Rio Grande valley, especially along streams and sandy deposits, but grows well on alkaline soils. Used as a landscape tree from San Antonio to Houston and southward.

Growing Conditions: Suitable for light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Wildlife value: Blossoms attract honeybees. Fruits attract numerous birds and mammals. Nectar-bees, Nectar-insects, Fruit-birds, Fruit-mammals

Timber Value: The wood is light brown, heavy, hard, and has been used for posts, wheels, spokes, axles, yokes, and tool handles. Flowers produce a light-colored honey.

Damaging Agents: It is not bothered by insects or disease and grows quickly to full

height

Lifespan: Anaqua has an average lifespan of 50 years



Links:

http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=EHAN

https://ag.arizona.edu/pima/gardening/aridplants/Ehretia_anacua.html

http://texastreeid.tamu.edu/content/TreeDetails/?id=35

http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Ehretia+anacua

http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=603