I went to a couple of gardening events last year that focused on Florida natives and came home from each with a small tree to add to an area of my yard in which wildlife-friendly plants -- mostly natives -- predominate. Both have turned out to be much more attractive than I expected.

First I bought a small Marlberry tree (Ardisia escallonioides) at a garden club talk by horticulturist David McLean, owner of Trinity Churchside Garden in Fort Lauderdale. I wanted something that wouldn't get too big, and Marlberry trees traditionally grow in the shade of taller trees. Although they can reach 25 feet, they usually get only about half that high.

I really didn't know much else about the Marlberry, like how pretty it is. Although they can bloom all year, especially in spring, mine suddenly produced bunches of white flowers in early October. They are showier than I usually expect from natives, and will soon turn into red berries that gradually darken to black and hang down in heavy clusters, making birds and squirrels in the neighborhood fat and happy.

I am told the flowers are fragrant, but because one of the trees that shades my Marlberry is a towering (non-native) ylang-ylang tree, which is also in bloom right now, the Marlberry flowers don't have much of a chance. Chanel No. 5 perfume is made from the flowers of the ylang-ylang, and mine makes my driveway smell like the cosmetics counter at Nordstrom every evening.

Marlberry is a member of the Myrsinaceae family. The non-native Ardisia crenata is in the same genus as the native Marlberry, but is not as well-behaved, according to the School of Forest Resources and Conservation at the University of Florida.

The lovely Ardisia crenata, also known as coralberry and coral ardisia, was introduced to Florida as a shade-loving landscape shrub that produces big clumps of brilliant red berries that appeal to birds, particularly cedar waxwings. Unfortunately, it has turned into a troublesome category 1 invasive species, as listed by the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council, which means it has escaped cultivation and is invading and disrupting natural areas. Cross that one off your list.

To get back to native trees that exhibit good manners and appeal to wildlife, I have another in this area of my yard, a Satinleaf (Chrysophyllum oliviforme) that I got at a Water Matters Day Native Tree giveaway. This is an event that promotes water conservation in Broward County every March, and the tree giveaway is a good way to get a small but free native tree that might be hard to find otherwise.

Satinleaf trees can get 12 to 30 feet high, but are relatively slow growers. They are most notable for their foliage, with leaves that are glossy green on one side, and copper colored and downy on the back. When the wind blows, the leaves put on an attractive show. As a bonus, Satinleafs also produce small purple fruits shaped like olives that appeal to wildlife. Its flowers are not showy, but you can't have everything.

I really didn't plan to get either of these native trees, but they have both been good additions to my wildlife garden, and my yard.

Christine Winter Juneau is a National Wildlife Federation Habitat Steward. Reach her at plntlady63@aol.com.

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