Florida Native Plants – Plants from the beach for your garden Today is the Sea grape

1. Coccoloba uvifera
Sea Grape
“Sanibel Seagrape” Painting by John Montoya
Trainee John Montoya

2. Seagrape, Coccoloba uvifera, isaspeciesoffloweringplant
inthebuckwheatfamily, Polygonaceae.
NativetocoastalbeachesthroughouttropicalAmericaand
theCaribbean,includingsouthernFlorida.
Photo by
John Montoya
Coccoloba uvifera

3. Seagrapeis made for the beachas it is windresistant,
moderately tolerant of shade, and tolerant of salt.
it is oftenplanted to stabilizebeachedges;
………Itis theperfectseasideplant for your yard
John Montoya
Sanibel

4. Treesintheirnativeforesthabitattypicallyhave oneleaderor
trunkforacoupledozenfeet,thentrunks divideintoseveral
co-dominantstemstowardthetopandbottomofthetree.
www.natgeocreative.com
Silhouette
John Montoya
Sanibel Island 4/14

5. Regularpruningkeepsthecanopyneatandfreeofdead
branches.Thetwistingtrunkcangrowto2 feetindiameter.
ThishabitmakesSeaGrapeapicturesqueshadetree.
billandnancyblog.blogspot.com

6. Leaves
Leaves are simple and alternate. They are large up
to 8 in., almost circular, thick evergreen leaves with
prominent veins.
John Montoya 2014John Montoya 2014

7. The new youngfoliage is a beautiful bronzecolor
whichis setoff nicelyagainst the dark green, shiny
leaves.
Leaves - a colorful show
John Montoya 2014

8. The leaves frequently turn completelyred before
they fall in winter.
Leaves - a colorful show
John Montoya
2014

9. The Bark is tan, flaking off in plates to reveal a
grey under layer.
John Montoya 2014
John Montoya 2014

10. white,fragrantandvery
small
Sea Grape
inflorescences
Flowersoccurinterminalandlateral, slenderclusters4-9in.long.
Unisexflowerclustersappearsimilarbutoccuron separatetrees.
Individualflowersextendperpendicularfromacentralstem.

11. Coccolobauviferaisadioeciousspecies;thatis,maleand
femaleflowersareborneonseparateplants,andcross-
pollinationisnecessaryforfruittodevelop.Photo by John Montoya

12. Seagraperequiresfull sunandsandy,well-drained
soils. Plantsshouldbewell-watereduntil
establishedandlocatedinaspotwherethefalling
foliage,twigs,barkandfruitwillnotbeaproblem.
Cultivation and propagation
John Montoya
Sanibel Island 3/14

13. In late summerit bears green fruit, about ½” dia.
in large grape-likeclusters. The fruit gradually
ripensto a purplishcolor. Eachcontainsa large pit
that constitutesmost of the volumeof the fruit.
Fruit
tossandlisten.com

14. Sea Grape Recipe
2to3quartsofseagrapes
8cupsfruitjuicefromseagrapes
81/2cupssugar
1/3cuplimejuice
Selectripeandpartlyripeseagrapes.Wash
andplaceinlargepot,addwatertonotquite
coverthefruit.Bringtoaboilandsoakuntil
tender.Squeezejuiceoutbyhandorstrain
throughjellybag,thenmeasurejuice.
Toeach8cupsofjuiceobtained,add81/2
cupssugarand1/3cuplimejuice.
Cookto225degrees,whichwilltakeabout27
minutes.Whenitreachesthejellystage,skim
andpourintosterilejarsandseal.Makeseight
1/2poundjars.
Where there is fruit, there is fruit jelly!

15. As a Bonsai- Encouragedevelopmentof a
single trunk withregular pruning.
Growing at home

16. Itcanbeprunedintoaloosehedge,screen,orwindbreak
John Montoya Edison State College 4/14
Growing for Urban Areas

17. Trees are tolerant of urban conditionsand have
performedwell as hedges and streettrees.
John Montoya
Growing for Urban Areas

18. Seagrape-Works
wellwith
Architecture
WalkerGuesthouse
byPaul Rudolph
1950’sFlorida
Mid-CenturyMaster
www.sarasotaarchitecturalfoundation.org
Growa SeaGrapeandbringalittleofthebeachhome
Growing at home

19. Questions?