From Common Forest Trees of Hawaii

Seagrape
Coccoloba uvifera
Smartweed-Buckwheat family (Polygonaceae)

Post-Cook introduction

Seagrape, a small tree planted along sandy beaches as an ornamental or windbreak, is easily identified by the rounded or kidney-shaped thick and leathery leaves, which are slightly broader than long, often reddish when young or very old, and by the drooping grapelike clusters of crowded purple edible about 3⁄4 inch (2 ) long.


©2008 Daniel di Palma
A small introduced tree 20–30 ft (6–9 ) high and 1 ft (0.3 ) in trunk diameter, with a widely spreading rounded of few coarse branches, often branching near base. Bark smoothish gray, thin, peeling off in small flakes on large trunks, which become mottled whitish, light gray, and light brown. Inner bark is light brown and bitter. Twigs stout spreading, green and minutely hairy when young, becoming gray, with leaf sheaths and ring scars at

Leaves with short leaf-stalks of 1⁄4–1⁄2 inch (6–13 ) and at base a reddish brown (ocrea) 1⁄4–3⁄8 inch (6–10 ) high around twig. Blades often turned on edge vertically, 3–6 inches (7.5–15 ) long and 4–8 inches (10–20 ) wide, rounded at and heart-shaped at base, with margins slightly curved under, hairless or nearly so, upper surface green or blue green, lower surface paler, and and larger veins often reddish.

Flower clusters (narrow ) and lateral, 4–9 inches (10–23 ) long have numerous small whitish or greenish white fragrant flowers 3⁄16 inch (5 ) across on short stalks of 1⁄16–1⁄8 inch (1.5–3 ), male and female on different trees (). Male flowers have greenish white tube () 1⁄16 inch (1.5 ) long and broad bearing five spreading rounded white more than 1⁄16 inch (1.5 ) long; eight united at base; and rudimentary Female flowers have small and a larger with a one-celled and three

elliptical or egg-shaped, with thin fleshy covering () and with at sour or sweetish, enclosing one elliptical seed () 3⁄8 inch (10 ) long. Flowering and fruiting through the year.

Sapwood is light brown and heartwood reddish brown. Wood hard, moderately heavy ( gr. 0.7), and very susceptible to attack by dry-wood termites. It takes a fine polish but is little used where native except for posts, furniture, and cabinet work. Straight pieces would be suited for wood turning. Because of the similarity of names, it is sometimes confused with cocobolo (Dalbergia retusa), an important commercial timber.

The bark contains tannin, and the astringent roots and bark have been used in medicines elsewhere. West Indian or Jamaican kino, an astringent red sap exuding or extracted from cut bark, formerly was in commerce for tanning and dyeing.

Jelly and a winelike beverage can be prepared from which also are eaten raw. Bunches of in cone-like packets formed by rolling the leaves have been sold on the streets in tropical America, the native home. Early Spanish colonists sometimes used the fresh thick leaves as a substitute for paper, scratching messages with a pin or other sharp point.

This is one of the first woody species to become established on sandy shores where native, being more hardy in these exposed places and more tolerant of salt than most trees. For these reasons it is often planted as an ornamental or windbreak along coasts. Since propagation is from cuttings, female plants should be selected for Frequently grown in southern Florida, it can be shaped as a hedge for landscaping. It is a good honey plant.

In Hawaii, the species is planted as an ornamental and windbreak along sandy beaches, it escapes and becomes naturalized locally. It may be seen along most shorelines. A total of 955 trees have been planted in the forest reserves by the Division of Forestry, mostly in the Honouliuli Forest Reserve. It is doubtful that they became established naturally so far from the shoreline.

Special area
Waimea Arboretum

Range
Shores of central and southern Florida, Bermuda, and from Bahamas through West Indies including Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands. Also, the Atlantic Coast from northern Mexico south to Venezuela and Guianas.

Other common names
uva de playa, uva de mar, uvero (Puerto Rico, Spanish); grape (Virgin Islands)

node -- The point at which there is attached growth, as in the place where each leaf is attached.

cm -- A centimeter which is about 0.4 inches.

membranous -- thin, somewhat translucent and flexible.

achene -- a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. For example, a rose hip holds a few achenes.

m -- A meter is about 10% larger than a yard.

sheath -- a tubular or rolled part of an organ, e.g. the lower part of the leaf in most grasses.

dioecious -- When male and female reproductive structures are on separate plants.

style -- This is a long and thread-like structure that connects the stigma with the ovary. A flower may have a single style, or several of them.

midrib -- The central and most prominent vein of a leaf or leaf-like thing.

The apex is the tip or the furthest point from the attachment.

alternate -- leaves alternate along the main stem and are attached singly.

terminal -- Located at the end (the tip or the apex).

A raceme is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along its axis.

A pistil is the female structure of many flowers. It contains one or more carpels. Each carpel contins an ovary, style and stigma. The stigma receives the pollen which grows thru the style to reach the ovary.

An evergreen tree retains a large portion of its green leaves all year.

lobe -- Rounded parts of a leaf (or other organ). Lobes bulge out about 1/4 of the leaf diameter.

basal -- at the base, situated or attached at the base.

calyx -- the sepals of a flower, typically forming a whorl that encloses the petals and forms a protective layer around a flower in bud.

fruit -- any seed-bearing structure in flowering plants. It is formed from the ovary after flowering.

canopy -- The foliage of a tree; the crown. Also the upper layer of a forest.

The hypanthium or floral cup is a cup-like structure formed by the fused bases of the stamens, petals, and sepals.

mm -- millimeter. About 1/25th of an inch.

sp. -- The abbreviation for "species". The plural is "spp". When used it sometimes means that the exact species is unknown. For example, "Aster sp" would mean some species within the Aster genus but the writer may not know exactly which species.

stamen -- the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower; The stamen consists of an anther supported by a filament.

An ovary is a part of the female reproductive organ of the flower. Above the ovary is the style and the stigma, which is where the pollen lands and germinates to grow down through the style to the ovary.