Florida refers to the showy flowers. The wood is used to make bowls, tool handles, and charcoal. The trunk of the Hercules Club is covered with cone-like bumps. It is also called Prickly Ash, referring to its prickly bark, and Toothache tree, referring to its medicinal use. Early pioneers chewed the leaves of the tree, or put a leaf along their gum, to numb the area around a sore tooth.
Several birds eat the fruit.