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sandpaper tree Boraginaceae Ehretia anacua (Terán & Berl.) I.M. Johnst. Listen to the Latin Print a QR link to this factsheet symbol: EHAN
Leaf: Alternate, simple, very tardily deciduous to evergreen, 2-3 inches, ovate, margins entire or with a few teeth above the middle, with a bristle tip, sandpaper rough on the upper suface, light green above and below.
Flower: Showy and fragrant, in 3 inch clusters at the branch tips, individual flowers white and star-shaped, with 5 petals, 1/4 inch, appearing in spring.
Fruit: In clusters, berry-like and fleshy, edible, 1/4 inch in diameter, yellow to orange when ripe, maturing early summer.
Twig: Slender, bristly-hairy, buds are small, covered with 4 scales, olive-green to brown.
Bark: Gray-brown or red-brown, initially scaly, becoming irregularly furrowed.
Form: A suckering shrub or small tree to 50 feet, often with several wide-spreading trunks, becoming gnarled.

sandpaper tree leaf image
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Additional Range Information: Ehretia anacua is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDA Plants Database
All material 2025 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information