Coccoloba is a genus of about 120–150 species of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae,[1] 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.
| Coccoloba | |
|---|---|
| |
| Coccoloba uvifera (Seagrape) bush | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Polygonaceae |
| Subfamily: | Eriogonoideae |
| Genus: | Coccoloba P.Browne |
| Species | |
|
See text | |
Range
editThe genus is native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, in South America, the Caribbean and Central America, with two species extending into Florida.[2][3]
Description
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The species are shrubs and trees, and lianas, mostly evergreen. The leaves are alternate, often large (to very large in some species; up to 2.5m (8 feet) long in C. gigantifolia),[4] 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.[2][3] Species in the genus have been characterized as dioecious,[5] but this is unclear.[6] Trioecy has been documented in C. cereifera.[7]
Selected species
edit- Coccoloba acuminata
- Coccoloba barbadensis – Uvero
- Coccoloba caracasana – Papaturro
- Coccoloba cereifera
- Coccoloba costata – Uvilla
- Coccoloba diversifolia – Pigeonplum
- Coccoloba gigantifolia (with human-sized leaves[8])
- Coccoloba goldmanii
- Coccoloba krugii – Whitewood seagrape
- Coccoloba microstachya – Puckhout
- Coccoloba mollis
- Coccoloba padiformis
- Coccoloba pallida – Pale seagrape
- Coccoloba pauciflora – Uvilla cimarrona[9]
- Coccoloba pubescens – Grandleaf seagrape
- Coccoloba pyrifolia – Uvera
- Coccoloba rugosa – Ortegon
- Coccoloba sintenisii – Uvero de monte
- Coccoloba swartzii – Swartz's pigeonplum
- Coccoloba tenuifolia – Bahama pigeonplum
- Coccoloba tuerckheimii
- Coccoloba uvifera – Seagrape
- Coccoloba venosa – False chiggergrape
Ecology
editThe 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.[14]
Cultivation and uses
editOne species, Coccoloba uvifera (Seagrape) is commonly cultivated for its edible fruit, and the genus name is sometimes used to denote this species.
References
edit- ^ Acevedo-Rodriguez, Pedro; Strong, Mark (2012). "Catalog of Seed Plants of the West Indies" (PDF). Smithsonian Contributions to Botany. 98: 1–1221. doi:10.5479/si.0081024X.98.1.
- ^ a b Flora of North America: Coccoloba
- ^ a b Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Macmillan ISBN 0-333-47494-5.
- ^ J.G. Rohwer, Tropical Plants of the World (New York: Sterling, 2002)
- ^ Howard, Richard A. (1949). "The Genus Coccoloba in Cuba". Journal of the Arnold Arboretum. 30 (4): 388–424. doi:10.5962/bhl.part.18052. JSTOR 43782355.
- ^ Madriz, Rosario; Ramirez, Nelson (1996–1997). "Biologia reproductiva de Coccoloba uvifera (Polygonaceae) una especie poligamo-dioica". Revista de Biología Tropical. 44(3)/45(1): 105–115.
- ^ Silva, Clice Alexandre; Oliva, Marco Antonio; Vieria, Milene Faria; Fernandes, Geraldo Wison (2008). "Trioecy in Coccoloba cereifera Schwacke (Polygonaceae), a Narrow Endemic and Threatened Tropical Species". Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology. 51 (5): 1003–1010. doi:10.1590/S1516-89132008000500017.
- ^ "Amazonian Tree With Human-Sized Leaves Finally Gets New Species Recognition". EcoWatch. 2019-11-28. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
- ^ Timyan, J. (2022). "Coccoloba pauciflora". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2022: e.T188895851A188913988. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-2.RLTS.T188895851A188913988.en. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
- ^ USDA Plants Profile: Coccoloba
- ^ Global Compendium of Weeds: Coccoloba acuminata
- ^ Plants of Hawaii: Polygonaceae Archived 2008-05-04 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Melo, E.; Cid Ferreira, C.A.; Gribel, R. (11 November 2019). "[Botany • 2019] Coccoloba gigantifolia (Polygonaceae) • A New Species of Coccoloba P. Browne from the Brazilian Amazon with Exceptionally Large Leaves". Species New to Science. novataxa.blogspot.com. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
- ^ Katia Torres Ribeiro; G. Wilson Fernandes (1999). "Geographic distribution of Coccoloba cereifera Schw. (Polygonaceae), a narrow endemic plant from Serra do Cipó, Brazil" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-06.
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External links
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