Capparis cynophallophora L.

vernacular Jamaican caper — species · Capparaceae

USDA: CACY
GBIF: 7430051 syn.
Rank: species

Jamaican caper (Capparis cynophallophora) — Platephotograph · michmarieCC BY-NC source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Growth habit: Shrub, Tree
Duration: Perennial
Group: Dicot
Family: Capparaceae Juss.
Genus: Capparis

§2a

Native status, by region

L48 Lower 48 States Native
PR Puerto Rico Native
VI U.S. Virgin Islands Native

§2b

County-level range

· 10 counties across 1 state

Legend Native · 10 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought: Medium
Shade: Medium
Fire: Medium
Anaerobic: None
Hedging: Low

§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance: 40 °F minimum
Root depth: 24 in min.
Fertility need: Medium
Soil texture: coarse, medium

§3c

Form & growth

Growth form: Single Stem
Lifespan: Short
Mature height: 20 ft
Height @ 20 y: 33 ft
Foliage texture: Coarse
Foliage colour: Green
Porosity (summer): Dense
Porosity (winter): Dense
Flower colour: Purple
Fruit colour: Brown
Fire resistant: No
N fixation: None

§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period: Spring
Seed begins: Summer
Seed ends: Fall
Stratify: No
Seeds / lb: 7,840
Propagation: seed, cuttings

§3e

Use & availability

Nursery stock: No
Palatable, human: No
Lumber: No
Christmas tree: No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 10 counties across 1 state.

Florida view state ↗ 10 N ▾

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/CACY ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/7430051 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26

fetched 2026-05-26T20:46:58Z