''Coccoloba'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of about 120–150 species of
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
s in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Polygonaceae
The Polygonaceae are a family of flowering plants known informally as the knotweed family or smartweed—buckwheat family in the United States. The name is based on the genus '' Polygonum'', and was first used by Antoine Laurent de Jussieu in 1 ...
, which is native to the
Neotropics
The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropics, tropical Ecoregion#Terrestrial, terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperat ...
. 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
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World.
Along with th ...
, in
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
, the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
and
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
, with two species extending into
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
.
[Flora of North America]
''Coccoloba''
/ref>[Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''. Macmillan .]
Description
The species are shrub
A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...
s and tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
s, and liana
A liana is a long- stemmed, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the canopy in search of direct sunlight. The word ''liana'' does not refer to a ta ...
s, mostly evergreen
In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...
. The leaves
A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
are alternate, often large (to very large in some species; up to 2.5m (8 feet) long in ''C. gigantifolia''), with the leaves on juvenile plants often larger and of different shape to those of mature plants. The flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...
s are produced in spikes. The fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
is a three-angled achene
An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not ope ...
, surrounded by an often brightly coloured fleshy perianth
The perianth (perigonium, perigon or perigone in monocots) is the non-reproductive part of the flower, and structure that forms an envelope surrounding the sexual organs, consisting of the calyx (sepals) and the corolla (petals) or tepals when ...
, edible in some species, though often astringent
An astringent (sometimes called adstringent) is a chemical that shrinks or constricts body tissues. The word derives from the Latin ''adstringere'', which means "to bind fast". Calamine lotion, witch hazel, and yerba mansa, a Californian plant ...
.[ Species in the genus have been characterized as ]dioecious
Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...
, but this is unclear. Trioecy
Trioecy, or subdioecy, is a rare sexual system characterized by the coexistence of males, females, and hermaphrodites. It has been found in both plants and animals. Trioecy is sometimes referred to as a mixed mating system alongside androdioecy an ...
has been documented in ''C. cereifera''.
Selected species
*''Coccoloba acuminata
''Coccoloba'' is a genus of about 120–150 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 ...
''
*''Coccoloba barbadensis
''Coccoloba'' is a genus of about 120–150 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 ...
'' – Uvero
*''Coccoloba caracasana
''Coccoloba caracasana'' (from Greek ''kokkolobis'', the ancient name given to a vine by the appearance of its fruit) is a tree in the family Polygonaceae. It is known by the common name papaturro.
General description Vegetative
This is a small ...
'' – Papaturro
*''Coccoloba cereifera
''Coccoloba cereifera'' is a rare species of flowering plant in the knotweed or buckwheat family Polygonaceae. The species is restricted to a single mountain, the Serra do Cipó, in southern Brazil. The species is notable for its expression of a ...
''
*''Coccoloba costata
''Coccoloba'' is a genus of about 120–150 species of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Polygonaceae, which is native to the Neotropical realm, Neotropics. There is no overall English name for the genus, although many of the indiv ...
'' – Uvilla
*''Coccoloba diversifolia
''Coccoloba diversifolia'', known as pigeonplum or tietongue, is a species of the genus ''Coccoloba'' native to coastal areas of the Caribbean, Central America (Belize, Guatemala), southern Mexico, southern Florida (coastal regions from Cape Can ...
'' – Pigeonplum
*''Coccoloba gigantifolia
''Coccoloba gigantifolia'' is a species of flowering plant in the knotweed family Polygonaceae. It is endemic to the Madeira River Basin in the states of Amazonas and Rondonia in the central and southwestern Brazilian Amazon. This species rese ...
'' (with human-sized leaves)
*''Coccoloba goldmanii
''Coccoloba'' is a genus of about 120–150 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 ...
''
*''Coccoloba krugii
''Coccoloba'' is a genus of about 120–150 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 ...
'' – Whitewood seagrape
*'' Coccoloba microstachya'' – Puckhout
*'' Coccoloba mollis''
*'' Coccoloba padiformis''
*''Coccoloba pallida
''Coccoloba'' is a genus of about 120–150 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 ...
'' – Pale seagrape
*'' Coccoloba pauciflora'' – Uvilla cimarrona
*'' Coccoloba pubescens'' – Grandleaf seagrape
*'' Coccoloba pyrifolia'' – Uvera
*'' Coccoloba rugosa'' – Ortegon
*''Coccoloba sintenisii
''Coccoloba'' is a genus of about 120–150 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 ...
'' – Uvero de monte
*'' Coccoloba swartzii'' – Swartz's pigeonplum
*''Coccoloba tenuifolia
''Coccoloba'' is a genus of about 120–150 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 ...
'' – Bahama pigeonplum
*'' Coccoloba tuerckheimii''
*''Coccoloba uvifera
''Coccoloba uvifera'' is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family, Polygonaceae, that is native to coastal beaches throughout tropical America and the Caribbean, including southern Florida, the Bahamas, the Greater and Lesser Antille ...
'' – Seagrape
*'' Coccoloba venosa'' – False chiggergrape
Sources:[USDA Plants Profile]
''Coccoloba''
/ref>[Global Compendium of Weeds]
''Coccoloba acuminata''
/ref>[Plants of Hawaii]
Ecology
The species ''Coccoloba cereifera
''Coccoloba cereifera'' is a rare species of flowering plant in the knotweed or buckwheat family Polygonaceae. The species is restricted to a single mountain, the Serra do Cipó, in southern Brazil. The species is notable for its expression of a ...
'' 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
The Serra do Cipó National Park ( pt, Parque Nacional da Serra do Cipó) is a national park in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Location
The park is in the Cerrado biome.
It covers .
It was created by decree 90.223 of 25 September 1984, modifi ...
, in the Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
ian state of Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...
.
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
External links
*
*
Polygonaceae genera
Neotropical realm flora
{{Polygonaceae-stub