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.