Coccoloba

Last updated

Coccoloba
SeaGrapeTree.jpg
Coccoloba uvifera (seagrape) bush
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Polygonaceae
Subfamily: Eriogonoideae
Genus: Coccoloba
P.Browne
Species

See text

Synonyms [1]
  • CampderiaBenth.
  • CoccolobisP.Browne, orth. var.
  • GuaiabaraMill.
  • GuiabaraAdans.
  • LyperodendronWilld. ex Meisn.
  • NaucorephesRaf.
  • UviferaL. ex Kuntze

Coccoloba is a genus of 177 species of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae, which is native to the Neotropics. [1] There is no overall English name for the genus, although many of the individual species have widely used common names. [2]

Contents

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. [3] [4]

Description

Coccoloba arborescens Coccoloba arborescens (Vell.) How. - Flickr - Alex Popovkin, Bahia, Brazil (10).jpg
Coccoloba arborescens

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), [5] 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. [3] [4] Species in the genus have been characterized as dioecious, [6] but this is unclear. [7] Trioecy has been documented in C. cereifera. [8]

Species

177 species are accepted. [1]

Other sources: [11] [12] [13] [14]

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. [15]

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.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Coccoloba P.Browne". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 27 March 2025.
  2. ↑ 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.
  3. 1 2 Flora of North America: Coccoloba
  4. 1 2 Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Macmillan ISBN   0-333-47494-5.
  5. ↑ J.G. Rohwer, Tropical Plants of the World (New York: Sterling, 2002)
  6. ↑ 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.
  7. ↑ 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.
  8. ↑ 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 .
  9. ↑ "Amazonian Tree With Human-Sized Leaves Finally Gets New Species Recognition". EcoWatch. 2019-11-28. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  10. ↑ 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.
  11. ↑ USDA Plants Profile: Coccoloba
  12. ↑ Global Compendium of Weeds: Coccoloba acuminata
  13. ↑ Plants of Hawaii: Polygonaceae Archived 2008-05-04 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ↑ 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.
  15. ↑ Katia Torres Ribeiro; G. Wilson Fernandes (1999). "Geographic distribution of Coccoloba cereifera Schw. (Polygonaceae), a narrow endemic plant from Serra do Cipó, Brazil" (PDF). BIOS, Belo Horizonte. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-06.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.