Coccoloba

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]

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]

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]

177 species are accepted.^[1]

Other sources:^{[11][12][13][14]}

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]

One species, Coccoloba uvifera (Seagrape) is commonly cultivated for its edible fruit, and the genus name is sometimes used to denote this species.

• Media related to Coccoloba at Wikimedia Commons
• Data related to Coccoloba at Wikispecies