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Stephen H. Brown, Horticulture Agent Kim Cooprider, Master Gardener Lee County Extension, Fort Myers, Florida (239) 533-7513 [email protected] http://lee.ifas.ufl.edu/hort/GardenHome.shtml Coccoloba uvifera Family: Polygonaceae Common Names: Seagrape; seaside-grape; cocoloba; uva de playa; Jamaican kino Fort Myers Sanibel Causeway, Florida Early June Synonyms (Discarded Names): Coccoloba diversifolia; C. laurifolia Origin: Mid-Florida coastal regions southward through the Keys; Bahamas; Caribbean; Belize to Colombia and Ecuador U.S.D.A. Zone: 9b-12 (26°F Minimum) Growth Rate: Moderate Plant Type: Tree or shrub Leaf Persistence: Semi-evergreen in spring Flowering Months: Usually some weeks from April to June Flower Color: White Light Requirements: Full to partial sun Soil Salt Tolerance: High Drought Tolerance: High Wind Tolerance: High Soil Requirements: Wide Nutritional Requirements: Low Major Potential Pests: Aphids; leaf spots; seagrape borers Typical Dimensions: 35’x 35’ Propagation: Seeds; ground layering, cuttings Human Hazards: None Uses: Shade tree; specimen; hedge; roadways; seaside; parking lots Early February Natural Geographic Distribution In its native range, this tropical plant was limited to sandy and rocky seashores, and along coastal hammocks and grasslands and limestone thickets. In the United States, seagrape is native from mid-Florida including Volusia County on the Atlantic coast and Pinellas County on the Gulf coast southward throughout the Keys. It occurs naturally in all of Central America to Ecuador and on the islands of the Caribbean and the Bahamas. It has been widely planted outside its native range. Ecological Niche Seagrape is one of the most commonly used native plants in south Florida. Highly salt tolerant, it is often planted to stabilize beach edges. It is an important part of the dune system for many South Florida beaches. Seagrape act as a continuous sand trap. The accumulation of sand by the leaves, limbs and stalks plays a major role in the construction of the beach and dune system. To put it simply, sand stored in the dunes provides protection to houses and other structures from the effects of coastal storms. The green below beginning at the edge of the sand is a forest of seagrape kept prostrate by the prevailing winds St. Kitts, Eastern Caribbean, late July Growth Habit Seagrape can take on a variety of shapes, depending upon environmental conditions. On dry wind-swept beaches it may be short and prostrate. Under those conditions it has a habit of stretching its heavy limbs along the sand to occupy the undergrowth. Elsewhere, it can become a tree up to 50 feet tall and over 24 inches in trunk diameter. It grows equally well inland or on the coast. The tree often has several leaning trunks and crooked branches. Even single-trunked specimens often branch close to the ground. Large trunks may be buttressed, fluted, or angled. The branches droop as the tree grows and will require pruning for vehicular or pedestrian clearance beneath the canopy. The trunk has a smooth, pale gray bark that exfoliates in thin plates. After which it becomes distinctively mottled over time with whitish, gray and brown colors while retaining its smooth texture. Twigs are green when young, becoming gray or sometimes brown as they age. The twigs are ringed at the nodes with a gray or brown membranous sheath known as an ocrea that is a modified stipule. Ocreae are common to many species of Polygonaceae. The sapwood is light brown, and the heartwood is reddish brown. The wood is hard and moderately heavy with a specific gravity of 0.7. The tree is semi-evergreen in the spring. New foliage appears as quickly as the old foliage falls. Grenada, Eastern Caribbean Fort Myers Beach, Florida Early February Late June Grenada, Eastern Caribbean DelRay Beach, Florida Intact bark Mottled trunk Pine Island, Florida Exfoliating bark DelRay Beach, Florida Petiole Ocreae Fort Myers Beach, Florida Leaves The leaves are alternate, simple, entire and orbiculate in shape (almost circular). The distinctive leaves are slightly broader than long, mostly 3-10 inches long and 4-12 inches across and heart-shaped at the base. The short petioles are 1/2 to 1.0 inches long and maroon colored. Leaf veins are prominent. From March to April most trees quickly exchange old leaves for new ones. Trees are semi-evergreen at that time. Old leaves dry out and look scorched before falling. New emerging leaves are reddish and become green and thick at maturity. Throughout the year, leaf drop is constant and fallen leaves take a long time to decay. At 30°F, leaves are bronzed by cold. Alternating leaves Orbiculate leaf shape Flowers Flowers mostly appear in the spring shortly after new leaves emerge. Considered inconspicuous, the flowers nonetheless are quite showy when the plant is in full bloom. They are tiny whitish green and are held on terminal and lateral racemes. Racemes are dense and narrow and are up to 12 inches long. They are generally stiffly pendulous but can be positioned at any angle. Flowers are on short stalks, 1/16-1/8 inches long. Seagrape is dioecious having both male and female flowers on different plants. Thus the species is considered to have both male and female plants. Nonetheless male and female racemes appear quite similar. However, male flowers have 8 white stamens that are united at the base and a rudimentary whitish pistil. Stamens of female flowers are smaller than those of male flowers but are nonfunctional. Racemes are generally stiffly pendulous but can be positioned at all angles A shrub loaded with racemes A terminally produced raceme Sanibel Causeway, Florida, mid March A late Bloomer DelRay Beach, early June The larger pistil has a 1-celled ovary and 3 spreading styles. The flowers contain much nectar making seagrape a locally important nectar plant for bees and other insects. The flowers have no discernable fragrance contrary to what is reported in much of the literature. Fruit Trees are dioecious and cross-pollination is necessary for fruit development. Only female plants produce fruits. As the flowers fade, the fruit begin to form and their weight draws the cluster downwards. The fruit becomes an ornamental feature competing with the leaves. Seagrape fruit are elliptic or egg-shaped achenes about 3/4 inch long. Immature green fruit are formed by June. They are as tightly packed as the flowers they replaced. There are approximately 120 achenes on the average cluster which are up to 12 inches long. In late summer and fall, the fruit mature to a purple color. They contain a single elliptic seed. Unlike conventional grapes that ripen together in a cluster, seagrape ripen individually. A cluster may have some fruit in it that are green, some that are ripe and others that represent every degree in between. Mature achenes are edible straight off the plant or when made into preserve, jam or wine. Before the introduction of modern candies, the fruit served as a plentiful snack for many local children. Wildlife frequently visit the plant to feed on the fruit. Immature fruit, late June Mature fruit, late August Propagation Seagrape is propagated from seeds, cutting and by ground layering. Seeds do not store long and should be sown soon after collection for highest percentage germination. In the latter technique, part of the bark is skinned away on a branch close to the ground. At the point where the bark is scored, a mound of soil is piled over it. The branch will develop roots in the mounded soil and after about 4 to 6 months it can be cut from the parent plant and placed on its own out in the landscape. Uses Beach communities often employ the plant as shrubs or trees providing corridors for the public from street or parking lot to the beach. Whether planted on the coast or inland, its form is widely variable from a 4-foot hedge to a large 35-foot shade tree. Seagrape hedges are especially useful for estates along the coast that require a tall, sturdy hedge to protect against the wind and salt spray. The species is commonly used as foundation plantings for large buildings, where it will lend a tropical effect. People are seen walking from beach to street through a corridor of saagrapes Del Ray Beach, Florida Portion of an access corridor 60-70 feet long Del Ray Beach, Florida Planting and Maintenance Guidelines Seagrape can be planted anytime in South Florida. It should be planted in full sun or very light shade. Irrigate it for establishment and later for more rapid growth. Its best features are displayed when grown with room to expand. The tree sheds its leaves in the spring and replaces them simultaneously. In more formal situations raking of leaves should be considered. The leaves are slow to decompose. Do not plant female trees where their fallen fruit will be a nuisance. The tree will likely grow with several trunks but it can be trained into a single trunk specimen. Seagrape is susceptible to breakage either at the crotch due to poor collar formation, or the wood itself may be weak and tend to break. Be sure branches do not develop embedded bark, since this will cause them to be poorly attached to the trunk and could split from the trunk. When grown as a hedge, it is best hand pruned since its large leaves do not lend themselves well to shearing. Through numerous surveys of wind damage to trees after the passage of hurricanes in Florida and the Caribbean, seagrape has been determined to have medium-high resistance to hurricane force winds. Beach Pruning Concerns The Florida legislature recognized the importance of coastal plant species. Therefore Florida law states that no person, firm, corporation or governmental agency shall damage or cause to be damaged sand dunes or the vegetation growing on the dune system (subparagraph 161.053(2)(a), Florida Statutes). Consequently, it is the policy of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to protect native salt-tolerant vegetation. Property owners or their agents proposing to alter native vegetation seaward of the Department’s Coastal Construction Control Line must apply for a permit if the alteration can be expected to damage the plants. The department will exempt maintenance of seagrape from the permitting requirements when the maintenance will not damage or destroy the plant. Persons intending to maintain native vegetation seaward of the Coastal Construction Control Line must also consider the impacts to sea turtles. Visit the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission website for more information. Or contact the sea turtle conservation program at (850) 922-4330. A Master Gardener survey crew by a Hurricane Charley damaged seagrape on Captiva. The barrier island experienced wind speed of 140 mph. August, 2004. The same tree one year later Captiva, Florida, August, 2005 Disease, Insect Pests amd Disorders Disease and insect problems of seagrape are usually brief in appearance and are not considered major problems. Under densely shaded canopies and high moisture, heavy lichen growth on the trunk and various wood rot can be an issue. This is best controlled by thinning the canopy to allow for good air movement. Symptomatic branches should be pruned out and discarded. Be sure that all pruning efforts are done under dry conditions. Irrigation risers should be positioned, so that water does not contact the trunk and lower branches. During the winter time when ambient air temperatures cool, the leaves may develop circular (rings) to irregularly shaped leaf spots that are typically red in color. This is a physiological disorder and a response to cool temperature. When warmer conditions develop the new growth will not be affected. Aphids may distort the growth of new leaves. The damage caused by seagrape borers is not readily noticeable and only in rare cases does extensive dieback of twigs occurs. Pruning and destroying twigs infected with the borers is a method of effectively reducing borer populations. Aaron Palmateer Heavy lichen growth and canker caused by wood rot fungi on a branch Aphid damage, Fort Myers, early May Leaf spots caused by winter temperatures, early January Close-up of the damaging aphids References Broschat, T. and Meerow, A. 2001. Betrock’s Reference Guide to Florida Landscape Plants. Betrock Information Systems, Inc. Duryea Mary et. al. 2007. Hurricanes and the Urban Forest: Effects on Tropical and Subtropical Trees Species. II. ISA Gilman, Edward and Watson, Dennis. 2011. Coccoloba uvifera: Seagrape. ENH334. UF/IFAS, Gainesville, Florida Howard, Forrest W. 2011. Seagrape Borer, Hexeris enhydris Grote (Insects: Lepidoptera: Thyridideae) EENY 345. University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida Little, Elbert L., Jr. and Wadsworth, Frank H. 1964. Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. Llamas, Kristen. 2003. Tropical Flowering Plants: A guide to identification and cultivation. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon Morton, Julia F. Trees, Shrubs and Plants for Florida Landscaping Native and Exotic. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nelson Gil. 2003. Florida’s Best Native Landscape Plants:200 Readily Available Species for Homeowners and Professionals. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, Florida Stresau, Frederic B. Florida, My Eden. 1986. Florida Classics Library, Port Salerno, Florida Workman, Richard. 1980. Growing Native: Native plants for landscape use in Coastal South Florida. The Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, Inc. Sanibel, Florida Seagrape Trimming Guidelines. 2009. Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Useful Links South Florida Native Plants Fact Sheets Flowering Trees Fact Sheets Bedding and Color Plants fact Sheet Jacaranda Fact Sheet Florida Landscape YouTube Channel This fact sheet was reviewed by Aaron J. Palmateer, UF Tropical REC, Homestead; Peggy Cruz, Lee County Extension; Karen Headlee, Lee County Extension; Holly Downing, City of Sanibel; Jenny Evans, Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, martial status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. 7/2012.