Buttonwood

There are many plants with the common name of 'buttonwood'. But for bonsai enthusiasts, Conocarpus erectus (Combretum Family) is one of the most popular collected tropical trees in the United States.

Identification

Not sure if your bonsai is a Conocarpus? The leaves can be quite different from one tree to the next.

There are a couple of easy ways to tell. The first way is to identify by the flower (which has no petals). Secondly, by two distinguishing glands - one on either side of the leaf stem (petiole).

Some say these petiole glands or “buttons” are where the name originates.

Others insist the fruit with its round, compact, cone-like structure is the answer. An additional story credits the hard wood of Conocarpus, which made it valuable as ‘wood for buttons’ in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

They grow along the shoreline in Florida near the mangroves. Some mangroves have biologically adapted to grow in the water, while the Conocarpus prefers a little higher ground.

Once you’ve seen Conocarpus as bonsai, you may think all buttonwood mature as gnarly, twisted, leaning trees full of driftwood.

This is not the case. The tree is also used as a landscape tree inland and has a perfectly straight growth pattern. If you’ve ever been on the South Florida extension of the turnpike, you probably passed them by.

Those used for bonsai are usually collected from the wild. They are old and have endured years of windblown sand, tropical storms, hurricanes, droughts and floods. Because of this environment, they often have unique shapes and ‘driftwood’ trunks.

The Florida Keys are the perfect place for such beauties to develop.

Buttonwood, bonsai, Key West

This amazing ancient tree resides on the corner of Leon and Washington Streets in Key West, FL.

Scientists estimate it to be "hundreds of years old".

Here's a close-up view of the magnificent trunk:

Buttonwood, Bonsai, bonsai tree pictures

I’ve seen it many times and in 2008, I noticed a recently added plaque. Native National Champion - Nice going old tree!

Conocarpus erectus has attracted bonsai artists since the 1950s.

buttonwood bonsai, bonsai tree pictures, Conocarpus

In the beginning, they were little more than plants in bonsai pots. They still showed their age.

Through years of experimenting and sharing knowledge tropical bonsai artists have developed techniques for both design and culture.

The late Joe Samuels, Miami Beach, FL always told us “if you listen to a buttonwood, it will tell you a story.

It will tell you it is old, how many storms it has been through, and how many dry seasons.

If you listen carefully, it will also tell you which style is most appropriate.”

Joe called this bonsai his “life line”. What a story!

To learn more about buttonwood as bonsai, see the Buttonwood Bonsai Care page.