About Geobalanus oblongifolius (Michx.) Small
Geobalanus oblongifolius (Michx.) Small, commonly called gopher apple, is an evergreen shrub. It grows in the sandhills of peninsular Florida, and also in coastal regions of Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Georgia. Its fruit serves as a food source for gopher tortoises and many other wildlife species. This plant was first published under the name Licania michauxii by British botanist G.T. Prance in J. Arnold Arbor. volume 51, on page 526, in 1970. It was originally renamed to Geobalanus oblongifolius by (Michx.) Small and re-published in Fl. Miami: 81 in 1913, and some sources still refer to it by its earlier name Licania michauxii today.
