This is Brazilian pepper. Its scientific name is Schinus terebinthifolius. It is also commonly known as Florida holly due to its red fruits. But it is not from Florida and it is not a holly. The male and female flowers are on different trees in this species, so not every tree that you see will produce the fruits that are seen in this picture. 

Below is a Brazilian pepper with male flowers. It can flower in the spring and late summer to early fall, just in time for migratory birds to spread its seeds.

Brazilian pepper was first introduced into Florida in the early mid 19^th Century and it languished in a kind of ecological obscurity until the mid 20^th Century. When Davis wrote his landmark paper on the vegetation of the Everglades he didn’t even mention Brazilian pepper. Then, just 20 years later land managers were throwing their hands up in the air as they were being invaded by this tree. So what changed that allowed this invasion to happen?

These trees are known as pioneer species. This means that they tend to colonize new habitats or recently cleared areas. We can blame the sudden invasion by Brazilian pepper on increases in land clearing following the introduction of air conditioning, mosquito control, and the rapid development that followed the space program into our area. 

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