{"title":"Titi (Cyrilla)","description":"\u003cp\u003eTiti is a plant of the Southeastern flatwoods and blackwater swamps, and the regional beekeeper knows the shrub better than the gardener does. White racemes come in early summer, after most shrubs have finished, dense and drooping in a collar around the stem, and the bees work them hard. One honest caution belongs with that. The nectar of \u003cem\u003eCyrilla racemiflora\u003c\/em\u003e is the long-suspected cause of purple brood, the summer larval poisoning Gulf Coast beekeepers have known since the 1930s, and the titi honey sold along the coastal plain comes mostly from black titi, \u003cem\u003eCliftonia monophylla\u003c\/em\u003e, which flowers months earlier. Plant the shrub for the bloom, the fall color, and the birds, rather than for the hive.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eCyrilla racemiflora\u003c\/em\u003e takes wet ground, acid soil, and standing water, which makes the shrub a straightforward answer for a pond edge, a swale, or the low corner of a lot. The plant is far more adaptable than the swamp habitat suggests, and will grow in ordinary garden soil given steady moisture. Fall turns the semi-evergreen foliage orange and scarlet, and the spent flower stalks persist through winter. The small-leaved forms, sometimes listed as \u003cem\u003eCyrilla parvifolia\u003c\/em\u003e, stay tighter and denser. Little known outside the region, and worth a great deal more attention than the plants get.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"cyrilla-racemiflora","title":"Cyrilla racemiflora","description":"\u003cp\u003eTiti is one of the quiet workhorses of the southern wetland, an evergreen to semi-evergreen shrub or small tree that ranges farther than almost any other native of the region, from the coastal plain of southern Virginia down through Florida and west to eastern Texas. In the wild the plant haunts the edges of swamps, bays, and blackwater streams, standing in the wet, acid ground where few woody plants thrive, yet takes with surprising ease to ordinary garden soil.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe genus honors Domenico Cirillo, the Neapolitan botanist and physician, and Cyrilla wears several country names that each catch something true. Leatherwood and burnwood bark point to the tough, spongy bark and the twisted stems that peel in cinnamon flakes on an old plant; titi is the older vernacular of the Deep South. For years botanists puzzled over how far the range really ran, since look-alike material from the West Indies and tropical America was once folded into the same species and is now kept separate, which leaves \u003cem\u003eCyrilla racemiflora\u003c\/em\u003e as a plant of the southeastern United States after all.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSummer is the season to notice Titi. Long, slender racemes of tiny white flowers pour from the branch tips in profusion, lightly fragrant and loud with bees, and the plant counts among the more important nectar sources of the southern honey flow, giving a dark, distinctive honey. There is a catch that beekeepers know well, since the pollen has been linked to purple brood, a condition that can trouble honeybee larvae, so Titi is generous and complicated in equal measure. The show carries on into fall, when the glossy foliage colors warm orange and red where the winters turn cool.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the garden, use Titi as a large multi-stemmed shrub or a small specimen tree along a pond edge, in a rain garden, or in any wet, difficult corner where little else will hold, though the plant is equally willing in an ordinary border. Site where the fragrant summer bloom and the pollinator traffic can be enjoyed up close, and let Titi screen or naturalize alongside clethra, itea, and native bay. Because Woodlanders ships across the country, expect evergreen to semi-evergreen foliage in the Deep South and a more deciduous, warmly coloring habit toward the northern end of the range.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePhoto courtesy of \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/garden.org\/users\/profile\/springcolor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eJulia.\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057855172723,"sku":"CYRI-RACE-01G","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/Cyrillaracemiflora.png?v=1722788776"},{"product_id":"cyrilla-racemiflora-graniteville","title":"Cyrilla racemiflora 'Graniteville'","description":"\u003cp\u003e'Graniteville' is a low, ground-hugging selection of \u003cem\u003eCyrilla racemiflora\u003c\/em\u003e, the native Titi, and one of the more distinctive forms of a plant already known for variability. Where the species can build into a small tree, this Woodlanders introduction stays wide and knee-high, and the story behind the plant is a piece of local botanizing: we propagated 'Graniteville' from an almost prostrate individual found years ago on an eroded sandhills seepage slope near Graniteville, South Carolina, and the ground-hugging habit has held true ever since in cultivation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTiti itself is a wetland native of remarkable range, spread across the southeastern coastal plain from Virginia to Florida and west to Texas, at home in the wet, acid ground along swamps and blackwater streams. The genus honors the Neapolitan botanist Domenico Cirillo, and the country names, leatherwood and burnwood bark among them, nod to the tough, spongy bark and twisted stems that flake in cinnamon tones on older wood. 'Graniteville' carries all of that heritage in a frame built to spread rather than climb.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn summer the selection bears the same slender racemes of tiny, fragrant white flowers that make Titi such a generous nectar plant, alive with bees, followed in fall by glossy foliage that colors warm orange and red where winters turn cool. Four to five feet tall at most but spreading eight to ten, 'Graniteville' reads as a fine-textured mound that spills over a slope or a low wall rather than a shrub that stands upright.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThat habit is the whole point in the garden. Use 'Graniteville' where a low, wide Titi can pour: down a sunny bank, over a retaining wall, along a pond edge, or massed as a tall, fine-textured groundcover in damp ground. Give the plant room to spread, enjoy the summer bloom and pollinator traffic up close, and keep good company with clethra, itea, and native ferns. As with the species, and because Woodlanders ships nationwide, expect semi-evergreen foliage in the Deep South and a more deciduous, warmly coloring habit toward the northern end of the range.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057855303795,"sku":"CYRI-RACE-GRAN-01G","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/DETA-346.jpg?v=1720137799"},{"product_id":"cyrilla-parvifolia-small-leaf","title":"Cyrilla parvifolia 'Small Leaf'","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eCyrilla parvifolia\u003c\/em\u003e 'Small Leaf' is a rare, fine-textured native selection that we collected in Franklin County, Florida, prized for the distinctly small, evergreen leaves and the delicate, branching habit. Though sometimes grouped botanically with \u003cem\u003eCyrilla racemiflora\u003c\/em\u003e, the more widespread Coastal Titi, this selection stands apart in both form and foliage, an easy standout in native and ornamental plantings alike.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe compact cultivar bears tiny, glossy leaves so refined that few would guess the plant for a Titi at first glance. In early to mid summer, racemes of small white flowers arrive along the branches, loved by pollinators and true to the graceful simplicity of so many southeastern natives.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAdapted to the wet, acidic soils of northwest Florida's bogs and seeps, \u003cem\u003eCyrilla parvifolia\u003c\/em\u003e 'Small Leaf' also settles readily into garden conditions, thriving in average to moist ground with adequate drainage. The compact size, evergreen character, and understated charm make this selection ideal for naturalized plantings, rain gardens, or as a textural contrast in a mixed border.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNative range: northwest Florida. Habit: compact and fine-branched, with slow to moderate growth. Landscape use: rain gardens, native plant borders, wildlife gardens, and texture accents.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057855369331,"sku":"CYRI-PARV-SMAL-LEAF-01G","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/DETA-345.jpg?v=1720137803"},{"product_id":"cyrilla-arida","title":"Cyrilla arida","description":"\u003cp\u003eOnce thought lost to time and development, \u003cem\u003eCyrilla arida\u003c\/em\u003e, known as Scrub Titi, is a botanical rarity with a story as striking as the summer bloom. The famed botanist J.K. Small first described this shrub in the early twentieth century from the desert-like scrub of central Florida. For decades the identity of Scrub Titi was debated and any wild presence uncertain, until a dedicated search led to rediscovery by Kenneth Wurdack and the Woodlanders team in Highlands County, Florida. That tiny remnant population may now be gone, and \u003cem\u003eCyrilla arida\u003c\/em\u003e may no longer exist in the wild, which makes every plant in cultivation all the more precious.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUnlike the wetland-loving relatives in the genus, \u003cem\u003eCyrilla arida\u003c\/em\u003e thrives on deep, nutrient-poor, xeric sandhills, the kind of ground where few plants dare to persist. That toughness carries into the garden, where Scrub Titi has proven surprisingly adaptable, performing well even in more temperate settings such as Atlanta, Georgia.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn summer, Scrub Titi puts on a graceful show of creamy white racemes, slender arching flower clusters that stand out against the fine-textured foliage. The blooms are ornamental and also beloved by pollinators, giving this shrub real ecological value alongside the good looks.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDeciduous to semi-evergreen, drought-tolerant, and low-maintenance once established, \u003cem\u003eCyrilla arida\u003c\/em\u003e belongs in native plant gardens, dry borders, and sandy woodland edges, where the plant carries a piece of rare Florida scrub into the cultivated landscape.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057857499251,"sku":"CYRI-ARID-01G","price":22.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/CyrillaaridaScottWardWoodlanders1.jpg?v=1748363233"},{"product_id":"cyrilla-parviflora","title":"Cyrilla parviflora","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eCyrilla parviflora\u003c\/em\u003e, the Littleleaf Cyrilla, is a small, understated shrub that carries the quiet resilience of the southeastern wetlands. A close relative of the larger \u003cem\u003eCyrilla racemiflora\u003c\/em\u003e, this plant offers a finer, more delicate presence, with slender glossy leaves and airy clusters of tiny white flowers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor centuries Littleleaf Cyrilla has thrived along the margins of swamps, riverbanks, and moist woods of the Gulf Coast and southern Atlantic states, offering cover and forage for wildlife. The small summer flowers, modest one by one, open in abundance along the branches and create a soft, cascading effect. Belonging to the family Cyrillaceae, the shrub is at home in damp, acidic soils, which makes Littleleaf Cyrilla a natural choice for rain gardens, pondsides, and low-lying ground where other plants struggle.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCome autumn, the foliage turns warm shades of orange to deep red, an unexpected burst of color from a plant known mostly for restraint. Growth is slow and the habit long-lived, so \u003cem\u003eCyrilla parviflora\u003c\/em\u003e rewards the patient gardener who values native character over quick effect.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhether the goal is to restore a wet area or simply to fold a piece of southern botany into a border, Littleleaf Cyrilla brings subtle elegance, ecological value, and real toughness in difficult soils.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057857564787,"sku":"CYRI-PARV-01G","price":17.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/CyrillaparvifloraCloseUpWoodlanders.jpg?v=1729626963"}],"url":"https:\/\/woodlanders.net\/collections\/titi.oembed","provider":"Woodlanders","version":"1.0","type":"link"}