Entirely nontoxic. Wood, leaves, and button-like fruit clusters are all safe to handle.
The tree that connects the beach to the mangroves. Buttonwood grows right at the transition zone between upland and wetland, often alongside mangroves. Named for its small, round, button-like fruit clusters. The wood is incredibly dense and was historically the preferred fuel for smoking fish and making charcoal in the Keys — it burns slow and hot.
— field notes, Miami Beach
Along the Indian Creek waterway, near mangrove areas in North Shore, Miami Beach Botanical Garden. Often found on the slightly higher ground just inland from the mangrove fringe.
Buttonwoods stabilize the transition zone between upland and mangrove wetland. They're often the first tree species you encounter moving inland from the mangrove fringe. The dense wood makes them resistant to hurricane damage. The fruit is eaten by small birds.
Buttonwood charcoal was considered the best fuel in the Florida Keys for centuries. Charcoal burners (called 'carboneros') would stack buttonwood in kilns and slow-burn it for days. Key West's economy partly ran on buttonwood charcoal before modern fuels arrived.
Collect the small round 'button' fruit clusters and use them for counting games, pattern making, and natural art. Their uniform round shape makes them perfect for mandalas and math.
Fallen button fruit clusters, a flat surface
Buttonwood is one of the few local woods dense enough to sink in water. Collect twigs from different trees and test which float and which sink. A hands-on density lesson.
Small fallen twigs from buttonwood and other nearby trees, a container of water