Index / Search / Hura crepitans

§1 Plant

Hura crepitans L.

vernacular sandbox tree — species · Euphorbiaceae


USDA
HUCR
GBIF
5380015
Rank
species
sandbox tree (Hura crepitans)
Platephotograph · Elendil CocchiCC BY-NC source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Habit and range

Growth habit
Tree
Duration
Perennial
Group
Dicot
Family
Euphorbiaceae Juss.
Genus
Hura
§2a

Native status, by region

  • L48 Lower 48 States Native
  • PR Puerto Rico Native
  • VI U.S. Virgin Islands Native
§2b

County-level range

· 2 counties across 1 state
Legend Native · 2 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought
Low
Shade
Low
Hedging
Low
§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance
32 °F minimum
Frost-free days
365 min.
Precipitation
35–150 in/yr
pH range
6–8
Root depth
36 in min.
Fertility need
Medium
Soil texture
coarse, medium, fine
§3c

Form & growth

Growth form
Single Crown
Growth rate
Rapid
Mature height
70 ft
Height @ 20 y
40 ft
Foliage texture
Coarse
Foliage colour
Green
Porosity (summer)
Dense
Porosity (winter)
Moderate
Flower colour
Red
Fruit colour
Brown
Fire resistant
No
N fixation
None
Toxicity
Severe
§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period
Spring
Seed begins
Fall
Seed ends
Winter
Stratify
No
Propagation
seed, cuttings
§3e

Use & availability

Nursery stock
No
Browse palatability
Low
Graze palatability
Low
Palatable, human
No
Protein potential
Low
Lumber
Yes
Fuelwood
Medium
Christmas tree
No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 2 counties across 1 state.


§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

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

plants.usda.gov/HUCR ↗

GBIF Backbone

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

gbif.org/species/5380015 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26

fetched 2026-05-26T10:50:45Z