The fruit, when ripe, is an ivory color with tinges of red or purple. It is oval in shape, up to one inch in length, and contains a single pit. The fruit is sought after by many animals including the gopher tortoise. Humans also consume the fruit, but they are usually difficult to find because the tortoises, raccoons, opossums, foxes and other animals eat them quickly. Some people find them unpalatable and relate the smell to the aroma of a new plastic shower curtain.
Gopher apple is an often overlooked ground cover of sandhills, scrub, coastal dunes and high pine ecosystems of Florida. It is also found in Georgia and Mississippi. It thrives in barren soil, in full sun, from acid scrub habitat to alkaline beach dune habitat.
Bees, flies & wasps use the flowers for nectar and the fruit is an important wildlife food.