Coccoloba is a genus of 177 species of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae, which is native to the Neotropics. There is no overall English name for the genus, although many of the individual species have widely used common names.
Range The genus is native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, in South America, the Caribbean, Central America, and Mexico, with two species extending into Florida.Flora of North America: CoccolobaHuxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Macmillan .
Description
Species in the genus are shrubs, trees, and lianas, and are mostly evergreen. The leaves are alternate, often large (to very large in some species; up to 2.5m (8 feet) long in C. gigantifolia),J.G. Rohwer, Tropical Plants of the World (New York: Sterling, 2002) with the leaves on juvenile plants often larger and of different shape to those of mature plants. The flowers are produced in spikes. The fruit is a three-angled achene, surrounded by an often brightly coloured fleshy perianth, edible in some species, though often astringent. Species in the genus have been characterized as dioecious, but this is unclear. Trioecy has been documented in C. cereifera.
Species 177 species are accepted.
Coccoloba acapulcensis Coccoloba acrostichoides Coccoloba acuminata Coccoloba acuna Coccoloba alainii Coccoloba albicans Coccoloba alnifolia Coccoloba arborescens Coccoloba argentinensis Coccoloba armata Coccoloba ascendens Coccoloba baracoensis Coccoloba barbadensis – uvero Coccoloba barkeri Coccoloba belizensis Coccoloba benitensis Coccoloba berazainiae Coccoloba × boxii Coccoloba brasiliensis Coccoloba buchii Coccoloba bullata Coccoloba burkeae Coccoloba caesia Coccoloba caracasana – papaturro Coccoloba caravellae Coccoloba ceibensis Coccoloba cereifera Coccoloba charitostachya Coccoloba chiapensis Coccoloba cholutecensis Coccoloba clementis Coccoloba colombiana Coccoloba conduplicata Coccoloba cordata Coccoloba coriacea Coccoloba coronata Coccoloba costata – uvilla Coccoloba cowellii Coccoloba cozumelensis Coccoloba cristalensis Coccoloba cruegeri Coccoloba cujabensis Coccoloba darienensis Coccoloba declinata Coccoloba densifrons Coccoloba diversifolia – pigeonplum Coccoloba dussii Coccoloba efigeniana Coccoloba escuintlensis Coccoloba excelsa Coccoloba fallax Coccoloba fastigiata Coccoloba fawcettii Coccoloba filipes Coccoloba flavescens Coccoloba floresii Coccoloba floribunda Coccoloba fuertesii Coccoloba gardneri Coccoloba geniculata Coccoloba gentryi Coccoloba gigantifolia (with human-sized leaves) Coccoloba glaziovii Coccoloba goldmanii Coccoloba gracilis Coccoloba grandiflora Coccoloba guanacastensis Coccoloba guaranitica Coccoloba gymnorrhachis Coccoloba hirtella Coccoloba hondurensis Coccoloba hotteana Coccoloba howardii Coccoloba humboldtii Coccoloba × hybrida Coccoloba ibarrae Coccoloba incrassata Coccoloba × jamaicensis Coccoloba jimenezii Coccoloba johnstonii Coccoloba jurgensenii Coccoloba krugii – whitewood seagrape Coccoloba laevis Coccoloba lanceolata Coccoloba lapathifolia Coccoloba lasseri Coccoloba latifolia Coccoloba lehmannii Coccoloba leoganensis Coccoloba leonardii Coccoloba liebmannii Coccoloba lindaviana Coccoloba lindeniana Coccoloba liportizii Coccoloba llewelynii Coccoloba longifolia Coccoloba longipes Coccoloba lucidula Coccoloba × lundellii Coccoloba manzinellensis Coccoloba meissneriana Coccoloba microphylla Coccoloba microstachya – puckhout Coccoloba mollis Coccoloba montana Coccoloba mosenii Coccoloba munizii Coccoloba najarroi Coccoloba nervosa Coccoloba nicaraguensis Coccoloba nigrescens Coccoloba nipensis Coccoloba nitida Coccoloba nodosa Coccoloba northropiae Coccoloba nutans Coccoloba obovata Coccoloba obtusifolia Coccoloba ochreolata Coccoloba oligantha Coccoloba orinocana Coccoloba ortizii Coccoloba ovata Coccoloba padiformis Coccoloba pallida – pale seagrape Coccoloba paraensis Coccoloba paraguariensis Coccoloba pauciflora – uvilla cimarrona Coccoloba peltata Coccoloba persicaria Coccoloba peruviana Coccoloba picardae Coccoloba plantaginea Coccoloba plumieri Coccoloba porphyrostachys Coccoloba portuguesana Coccoloba praecox Coccoloba proctorii Coccoloba pubescens – grandleaf seagrape Coccoloba pyrifolia – uvera Coccoloba ramosissima Coccoloba reflexa Coccoloba reflexiflora Coccoloba retirensis Coccoloba retusa Coccoloba rigida Coccoloba rosea Coccoloba rufescens Coccoloba rugosa – ortegon Coccoloba ruiziana Coccoloba salicifolia Coccoloba samanensis Coccoloba savannarum Coccoloba scandens Coccoloba shaferi Coccoloba sintenisii – uvero de monte Coccoloba spicata Coccoloba spinescens Coccoloba steinbachii Coccoloba sticticaulis Coccoloba striata Coccoloba subcordata Coccoloba swartzii – Swartz's pigeonplum Coccoloba taylorii Coccoloba tenuiflora Coccoloba tenuifolia – Bahama pigeonplum Coccoloba tiliacea Coccoloba toaensis Coccoloba troyana Coccoloba tuerckheimii Coccoloba tunii Coccoloba uvifera – seagrape Coccoloba venosa – false chiggergrape Coccoloba warmingii Coccoloba williamsii Coccoloba wrightii Coccoloba wurdackii Coccoloba yaracuyensis Coccoloba yaterensis Coccoloba zebra Coccoloba zuliana
Other sources:USDA Plants Profile: CoccolobaGlobal Compendium of Weeds: Coccoloba acuminataPlants of Hawaii: Polygonaceae
Ecology The species Coccoloba cereifera is notable for being restricted to an area of only some 26 square km on a single low peak near Serra do Cipó National Park, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais.
Cultivation and uses One species, Coccoloba uvifera (Seagrape) is commonly cultivated for its edible fruit, and the genus name is sometimes used to denote this species.
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