Duranta erecta

golden dewdrop

Golden dewdrop is native to the New World tropics from Mexico to South America and the Caribbean, possibly including the Florida Keys. This plant is named for its golden orange fruits. Unfortunately, even though they look like they’d be tasty, these fruits are toxic, with confirmed reports of deaths of children, cats and dogs. Songbirds, however, enjoy the fruits without any negative effects.

When in bloom, which is almost year-round, small cascades of light blue to purple flowers cover the plant and attract butterflies and hummingbirds. The fragrance of the flowers has been described as chocolate and/or vanilla, but the scent is very subtle. The plant will send out cascading branches as it grows but if pruned, it can be shaped nicely and makes a good hedge or windbreak. It is easy to grow but doesn't like to dry out in the soil too much. You'll also need to regularly prune back the branches if you don't like the natural sprawling habit of the plant.

Medicinally, extracts taken from leaves of golden dewdrop have significant antimalarial activity and fruits, in very small quantities, have been used to treat intestinal worms.