North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Cyrilla racemiflora

Cyrilla racemiflora L.

titi, swamp titi

Synonym(s): Cyrilla antillana

Image ID: 13949
Image by: Sorrie, Bruce A.
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: CYRA
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Cyrilla racemiflora
Include in WOTAS: 0
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2019-02-11

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: CYRIL
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Cyrilla
GENUS AUTHORITY: Garden ex L.
GENUS COMMON: Titi
GENUS SUMMARY: A genus of 3-10 (or more) species, trees and shrubs, of warm temperate to tropical North America, the West Indies, and n. South America. The most recent monographer (Thomas 1960) treated Cyrilla as monotypic, clearly the diversity of habit (from subshrubs to large forest trees) and floral structure warrant the recognition of multiple taxa at specific rank; the genus is badly in need of modern study.
GENUS IDENTIFICATION:
GENUS REFERENCES: Lemke in FNA (2009); Kurz & Godfrey (1962)=Z; Thomas (1960)=Y; Small (1924b)=X; Kubitzki in Kubitzki (2004).

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: CYRILL
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Cyrillaceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: Endlicher 1841
FAMILY COMMON: Ti-ti Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: A family of 2 genera and 3 or more species, ranging from se. North America to the West Indies and n. South America (following the removal of Purdiaea to the Clethraceae (Anderberg & Zhang 2002).
FAMILY REFERENCE: Lemke in FNA (2009); Godfrey (1988); Anderberg & Zhang (2002); Thomas (1960)=Y; Kubitzki in Kubitzki (2004). Key adapted from Godfrey (1988).

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO:
STEMS:
LEAVES:
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS:
FRUITS:
COMMENTS:
HEIGHT: 6-12 ft.

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Shrub, Tree

LEAF ARRANGEMENT: Alternate
LEAF COMPLEXITY: Simple
LEAF RETENTION: Deciduous, Evergreen

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY:
BLOOM TIME: May-July

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
			x	x	x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR: White flowers

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
x

FRUITING PERIOD: Sep-Oct.

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE: Bogs/pocosins
NATIVE RANGE: southeastern U.S. to n. South America

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text: Titi is a lesser-known southeastern native shrub that is gaining recognition for its wonderful attributes. Small bell-shaped white flowers on drooping spikes have a delightful honey-like fragrance. This shrub typically has an interesting architectural shape, with branches spiraling in a sculptural silhouette. Its foliage is glossy dark green, often tinged with red in the fall. Depending upon the harshness of the winter, some foliage of the titi often persists until spring.

Bloom Table Text: This large, distinctive shrub grows to about twenty feet in swampy areas of the Coastal Plain. Considered a semi-evergreen, it does drop its leaves in the northern end of its range or during a hard winter; while farther south the leaves create a fantastic display of oranges and scarlets. Another attractive aspect of Ti-ti is its habit of wide-spreading branches which have smooth brown bark and a twisted shape. Slender white flower racemes appear in late June and July and are three to six inches long, giving it a graceful and delicate appearance.

NCBG Location: Coastal Plain Habitat, Totten Center Landscape

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Average, Moist/Wet
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun, Part Shade, Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 5
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 9
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE: Bee Friendly, Butterfly Friendly
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM COLLECTIONS

Coll_id	Project	Collection date	Collector	Action
609	SOS	2015-11-03	Driskill	View
989	HORT	1979-01-01		View
1819	HORT	2006-10-01	Bryan	View

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
849	1985-0520			View
1916	1986-1702			View
7774	2001-0130	2001-06-27		View
8006	2004-0014	2004-02-19		View
8926	1987-0129	0000-00-00	989	View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
1603	849	166	NCBG staff	1978-11-09	View
1604	849	27	Liloia	2003-07-17	View
1605	849	158	NCBG staff	1978-11-09	View
3033	1916	62	NCBG staff	1978-01-01	View
3034	1916	6	NCBG staff	1986-12-22	View
3035	1916	59	NCBG staff	2001-03-15	View
4481	8926	9	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
10978	7774	6	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
11252	8006	132	NCBG staff	2003-01-01	View
11253	8006	166	NCBG staff	2003-11-01	View
11254	8006	118	Liloia	0000-00-00	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: CYRA
USDA Common Name: Swamp Titi
Native Status: L48 (N), PR (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, DE, FL, GA, LA, MS, NC, SC, TX, VA), USA+ (PR)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Tree, Shrub

NATIONAL WETLAND INDICATOR STATUS

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:	FACW			FACW	FACW	FACW

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2016 National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.3 (Lichvar, R.W., D.L. Banks, W.N. Kirchner, and N.C. Melvin. 2016. The National Wetland Plant List: 2016 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2016-30: 1-17. Published 28 April 2016. ISSN 2153 733X). Regions: AGCP-Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, AK-Alaska, AW-Arid West, CB-Caribbean, EMP-Eastern Mountains and Piedmont, GP-Great Plains, HI-Hawaii, MW-Midwest, NCNE-Northcentral and Northeast, WMCV-Western Mountains, Valleys & Coast

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Cyrilla racemiflora
COMMON NAME: Titi
SYNONYMY: [= C, G, K1, RAB, S, Va, X, Z; < C. racemiflora - FNA, GW, K2, WH3, Y; > C. racemiflora var. racemiflora - F; > C. racemiflora var. subglobosa Fernald - F]
PHENOLOGY: May-Jul; Sep-Oct.
HABITAT: Pocosins, swamps, lake and flatwood pond margins, streambanks, pine flatwoods.
COMMENTS: E. VA (Accomack County) south to sc. peninsular FL, west to e. TX. Thomas (1960) interprets this species very broadly, as also distributed in the West Indies, Belize, Mexico, and n. South America (notably the tepuis and Gran Sabana of s. Venezuela), but I interpret plants in these areas as belonging to other species. The leaves are quite variable in shape and size; the venation and glossy smoothness, however, are distinctive once learned.
RANGE MAP: Cyrilla racemiflora.png

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Cyrillaceae Endlicher 1841 (Ti-ti Family)
SUMMARY: A family of 2 genera and 3 or more species, ranging from se. North America to the West Indies and n. South America (following the removal of Purdiaea to the Clethraceae (Anderberg & Zhang 2002).
REFERENCE: Lemke in FNA (2009); Godfrey (1988); Anderberg & Zhang (2002); Thomas (1960)=Y; Kubitzki in Kubitzki (2004). Key adapted from Godfrey (1988).

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Cyrilla Garden ex L. (Titi)
SUMMARY: A genus of 3-10 (or more) species, trees and shrubs, of warm temperate to tropical North America, the West Indies, and n. South America. The most recent monographer (Thomas 1960) treated Cyrilla as monotypic, clearly the diversity of habit (from subshrubs to large forest trees) and floral structure warrant the recognition of multiple taxa at specific rank; the genus is badly in need of modern study.
REFERENCE: Lemke in FNA (2009); Kurz & Godfrey (1962)=Z; Thomas (1960)=Y; Small (1924b)=X; Kubitzki in Kubitzki (2004).

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Cyrilla racemiflora in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Cyrilla racemiflora in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Cyrilla racemiflora in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Cyrilla racemiflora in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Cyrilla racemiflora in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Cyrilla racemiflora

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 13949 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 13949 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 7927 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 13953 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)