''Coccoloba diversifolia'', known as pigeonplum or tietongue,
is a species of the genus ''
Coccoloba'' native to coastal areas of 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 ...
,
Central America (
Belize,
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
), southern
Mexico, southern
Florida (coastal regions from
Cape Canaveral
, image = cape canaveral.jpg
, image_size = 300
, caption = View of Cape Canaveral from space in 1991
, map = Florida#USA
, map_width = 300
, type =Cape
, map_caption = Location in Florida
, location ...
to the
Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and e ...
) and
the Bahamas.
[Flora of North America]
''Coccoloba diversifolia''
/ref>[Florida Institute for Systematic Botany]
''Coccoloba diversifolia''
/ref>
Description
Pigeonplum is a small to medium-sized tree growing to 10 m (rarely to 18 m) tall. The bark is light gray, smooth, and thin but may become scaly on the largest trees. 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 3–13 cm long and 1–7 cm broad, smooth edged, wavy, oval to oblong, rounded or pointed on the ends, leathery, brighter green above and paler below; leaves on young plants and root sprouts are larger than those on mature plants.
The numerous, inconspicuous flowers appear on spikes 1.5–18 cm long in the spring. The fruit is an 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 ...
6–10 mm long surrounded by a dark purple edible fleshy perianth, ripening in the fall. The tree is unable to survive hard frost. It is resistant to high winds, salt and drought.[Florida Institute for Systematic Botany]
''Coccoloba diversifolia'' images
/ref>Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin
Nikolaus Joseph Freiherr von Jacquin (16 February 172726 October 1817) was a scientist who studied medicine, chemistry and botany.
Biography
Born in Leiden in the Netherlands, he studied medicine at Leiden University, then moved first to P ...
References
External links
Interactive Distribution Map for Coccoloba diversifolia
{{Taxonbar, from=Q291763
diversifolia
Trees of the Southeastern United States
Trees of Mexico
Trees of Belize
Trees of Guatemala
Trees of the Caribbean