Tough bully facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tough bully
Illustration of Sideroxylon tenax with the synonym Bumelia tenax
Conservation status
Vulnerable (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Genus:	Sideroxylon
Species:	tenax
Synonyms
Synonymy Bumelia chrysophylloides (Michx.) P.Watson Bumelia chrysophylloides (Michx.) Pursh Bumelia lacuum Small Bumelia megacocca Small Bumelia tenax (L.) Willd. Chrysophyllum carolinense Jacq. Chrysophyllum glabrum Juss. ex Lam. Lyciodes tenax (L.) Kuntze Sclerocladus tenax (L.) Raf. Sclerozus tenax (L.) Raf. Sideroxylon carolinense (Jacq.) Sarg. Sideroxylon chrysophylloides Michx. Sideroxylon sericeum Walter

Sideroxylon tenax, called the tough bully, is a plant species native to Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and the southernmost part of North Carolina. It grows on dry, sandy soil in pine forests, pine-oak woodlands, and hummocks at elevations less than 100 m.

Sideroxylon tenax is a shrub or tree up to 8 m (almost 27 feet) tall. Stems are armed with thorns. Leaves are up to 7 cm (2.8 inches) long, upper side green and sometimes shiny, underside covered with a layer of brown hairs. Flowers are white, up to 5 mm (0.2 inches) across, borne in groups of up to 40 flowers. Berries are very dark purple, almost black, spherical to egg-shaped, about 10 mm (0.4 inches) across.