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Plant · P-457
Sea Grape
Coccoloba uvifera
Sea grape is an evergreen coastal tree native to sandy shores and dunes across the Caribbean and tropical America. Purple, grape-like fruit hangs in clusters and is eaten raw or made into jelly, juice and jam, though only female trees bear it - a male tree has to grow nearby to pollinate them, and seedlings don't start fruiting for six to eight years. The wood is a valued cabinet and furniture timber, and the bark and fruit also give a red dye, a tanning agent and a traditional astringent remedy. It tolerates salt spray, wind, drought and either acid or alkaline soil, but it is strictly tropical - even a light frost damages it and a hard freeze kills a mature tree outright.
Record at a glance
Growing profile
- Sun
- Full Sun
- USDA zone
- USDA 10–11
- Soil
- Sand · Loam · Clay
- Moisture
- Dry · Well-Drained
Vertical layer
Canopy- Soil pH
- 6.5–7.5
- Plant type
- Evergreen Tree
- Mature height
- 35–50 ft
- Mature spread
- 20–30 ft
- Plant spacing
- 20–30 ft
- Root type
- Tap
- Spread pattern
- None
Keep exploring
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Arjuna
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The deeper layer
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- Primary
- Locked ecological function
- Secondary
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- Byproduct
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Behind the record
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