Thrives in almost any soil, including chalk, it is particularly suited to dry shaded areas. Prefers a well-drained loamy soil. Requires shade from the midday sun. A moderately fast-growing but short-lived tree in the wild.

Although the fruit has sometimes been eaten, it is considered to be poisonous by some writers and so should definitely be avoided. The fruit is about 15mm in diameter.

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 8 - 12 weeks warm followed by 8 - 16 weeks cold stratification and can then be sown in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 5 - 8cm long taken at a node or with a heel, July/August in a frame. Very easy.

Rich woods and thickets, the best specimens are found in deep rich humus soils. Limstone soils, stream bottoms and woods in Texas.