Become a Titi Fan

One of our great native small trees is Cyrilla racemiflora, commonly known as Titi. The genus, itself, is so odd, that it warrants its own family, Cyrillaceae. Although there are 10 species in the genus, this is the only one in commerce. Interestingly, the other nine species only occur in Cuba. In the wild, Cyrilla racemiflora can be found on swamp edges from its northernmost natural occurrence in Virginia, south through Central America and well into Northern South America. In our climate, it rarely exceeds 10-12′ tall, except with great age. The twisty trunks of smooth cinnamon colored bark begin the flowering season in June (NC) with a show of panicles of white flowers that are a feast for native bees.

In the garden, the small leaves are functionally evergreen, dropping only as the new foliage emerges in early spring, turning brilliant red as they prepare to fall. Although it’s native to moist sandy loam, it performs well in amended clay and other garden soils as long as it gets some water during extended droughts.

In 2021, we were pleased to introduce a compact selection, Cyrilla racemiflora ‘Tom Patrick’, discovered as a witch’s broom mutation by the retired Ron Determann of the Atlanta Botanical Garden and the now deceased Tom Patrick, longtime head botanist for Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The tight congested growth forms a natural bonsai. In five years, our oldest plants are now 6′ tall x 8′ wide. This is an outstanding introduction that needs to be grown much more widely. Hardiness Zone 5a-10b. We hope to have this available next year through Plant Delights Nursery.