BUCKWHEAT FAMILY (POLYGONACEAE) 



Key to the 6 species illustrated ( Xos. 25-30) 

 A. Leaves rounded or short-pointed at apex, without faint lines ; fruits fleshy, without wings. 

 B. Leaves round or nearly so. 



C. Leaves very large, 1-1% feet in diameter, appearing wrinkled with lateral veins deeply sunken — 26. 

 Coccoloba pubescens. 

 CC. Leaves smaller, 2Vn-G inches long, flat. 



D. Leaves longer than broad; veins green, forming prominent network upon drying — 27. Coccoloba 

 swartzii. 

 DD. Leaves broader than long; midrib, larger veins, and young and old leaves often reddish — 28. 

 Coccoloba nrifera. 

 BB. Leaves elliptic, about twice as long as broad. 



E. Leaves leathery, broadest below middle, mostly rounded at both ends, with edges turned under — 25. 

 Coccoloba diversifolia. 

 EE. Leaves thin, usually broadest above middle, short- to long-pointed at apex and short-pointed to heart- 

 shaped at base — 29. Coccoloba renosa. 

 AA. Leaves long-pointed, oblong, with 2-5 faint lines on each side of and parallel with midrib; fruits dry, with 3 

 showy pink wings — 30. Triplaris americana* 



25. Uvilla, doveplum 



Trees of this genus are recofrnized by the twigs 

 ringed at the nodes with a membranous sheath 

 (ocrea) at tlie base of the leaves. This species of 

 limestone forests is characterized by : ( 1 ) the dis- 

 tinctive smoothish mottled gray and brown bai'k, 

 gray at first but peeling off in sliort thin flakes ex- 

 posing brown beneath; (2) twigs ringed at nodes, 

 with gray or brown membranous sheath (ocrea) 

 14 incTi long at base of leaves; (3) elliptic to ovate 

 leathery leaves 11/2-5 inches long and ^g-SVo inches 

 wide, usually rounded at both ends and turned 

 under at edges; (4) slender flower clusters with 

 many short -.stalked spreading 5-paited whitish- 

 green flowers 3/jg inch across; and (5) rounded 

 or egg-shaped dark red or purplish fruits %-V2 

 inch long, slightly fleshy and edible. 



An evergreen, usually small tree to 30 feet tall 

 and 10 inches in trunk diameter, often with sev- 

 eral slender trunks and crooked branches. Large 

 trunks may be buttressed, fluted, or angled. The 

 inner bark is light brown and astringent or bitter. 

 Twigs are green when young, Ijecoming gray or 

 sometimes brown, and bear alternate leaves. 



Petioles are ^4-% i'K'b long, light green. Blades 

 are sometimes blunt-pointed at apex. The upper 

 surface is dark green to gi-een and dull or often 

 shiny, and lower surface is slightly paler dull 

 green. 



Flower clusters (racemes) are terminal and 1%- 

 (i inches long. Flowers are male and female on 

 different trees (dioecious) and have short stalks 

 Vs inch or less in length. Male flowers have a 

 short basal tube (hypanthium) less than \\^ inch 

 long; 5 spreading rounded whitish-green calyx 

 lobes more than i-ig inch long; S white spreading 

 stamens attached to tube ; and rudimentary whitish 

 pistil with ovary and 3 short styles. Female 

 flowers have basal tube, 5 calyx lol^es, minute non- 

 functional stamens, and pistil with 1-celled ovary 

 i/kj inch long and 3 spreading styles. 



The fruits consist of basal tube (hypanthium) 

 with calyx lobes at the pointed apex, enclosing 1 



Coccoloba diversifolia Jacq. 



large brown seed (akene) i/4-% inch long. The 

 sour and somewiiat astringent thin flesh is eaten 

 by birds and children and prepared into jelly. 

 With flowers or developing fruits nearly through 

 the year. 



The whitish or light brown sapwood is hard. 

 The wood is described as dark reddish brown, 

 heavy (specific gravity 0.8), strong, and brittle. 

 Employed in Puerto Rico mostly for posts and 

 j)oles. Elsewhere reportedly used in cabinet- 

 making. 



Popular for general planting and landscape 

 work in southern Florida. Also a honey plant. 



In both the moist and dry limestone forest re- 

 gions of Puerto Rico. Also in Mona, Vieques, and 

 St. Croix. 



Public forests. — Cambalache, Guajataca, 

 Guanica, Susua, Vega. 



MUNICIP.\LITIES WHERE ESPECIALLY COMMOX. — 



7, 9, 11, 14, 24, 26, 28, 38, 44, 54, 55, 68, 75. 



Range. — Southern Florida including Florida 

 Keys, Bahamas, Greater Antilles, St. Croix, and 

 lesser Antilles. 



Other common names. — uverillo (Puerto 

 Rico) ; uvilla, guayabon, uvilla de sierra, uva 

 cimarrona (Dominican Republic) ; uvilla, guaya- 

 canejo, uverillo, uva de paloma, fruta de paloma 

 (Cuba) ; doveplum, pigeon-plum, pigeon seagrape 

 (United States) ; pigeon-plum (Bahamas) ; raisin 

 marron (Haiti). 



Formerly referred to Coccoloba Jau.ri folia Jacq., 

 a species described from Venezuela. 



Besides the 5 species of this genus illustrated 

 here, 6 others of mostly small trees are native in 

 forests of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and 

 are mentioned under related species. The 2 below 

 are distinguished from that above by the more 

 numerous female flowers 50 or more in along an 

 axis instead of 10-20. Uvero de monte {Cocco- 

 loba sintenkii Urban), known only from Puerto 

 Rico, has oblong leathery leaves 5-8 inches long 



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