POLYGONACE^E 



339 



twenty species distributed from southern Florida to Mexico, Central America, Brazil, 

 and Peru. It possesses astringent properties sometimes utilized in medicine. Many of 

 the species produce hard dark valuable wood. 



Coccolobis, from KOKKOS and \o&6s, is in allusion to the character of the fruit. 



CONSPECTUS OF THE NORTH AMERICAN SPECIES. 



Fruits crowded, in drooping racemes; leaves broadly ovate to suborbicular, cordate at base. 



1. C. uvifera (D). 

 Fruits not crowded, in erect or spreading racemes; leaves ovate to oblong-lanceolate. 



2. C. laurifolia (D). 



1. Coccolobis uvifera Jacq. Sea Grape. 



Leaves broadly ovate to suborbicular rounded or sometimes short-pointed at apex, deeply 

 cordate at base, with undulate margins, thick and coriaceous, minutely reticulate-venulose, 

 dark green and lustrous above, paler and puberulous below, 4'-5' long, 5'-6' wide, with a 

 stout often bright red midrib frequently covered below with pale hairs, and about 5 pairs 

 of conspicuous primary veins red on the upper side, arcuate near the margins and connected 

 by cross veinlets ; gradually turning red or scarlet and falling during their second or third 



Fig. 307 



years; petioles short, stout, flattened, puberulous, abruptly enlarged at base, leaving 

 in falling large pale elevated orbicular or semiorbicular scars; stipular sheath ' broad, 

 slightly puberulous, persistent during 2 or 3 years. Flowers appearing almost continuously 

 throughout the year on slender puberulous pedicels |' long, in 1-6-flowered subsessile fasci- 

 cles, in terminal and axillary thick-stemmed many-flowered racemes 6'-14' in length; calyx 

 I' across when expanded, the lobes puberulous on the inner surface and rather longer than 

 the red stamens; ovary oblong, with short stigmatic lobes. Fruit crowded, in long hanging 

 racemes, ovoid to obovoid, f long, gradually narrowed into a stalk-like base, purple or 

 greenish white, translucent, with thin juicy flesh, and a thin-walled light red nutlet. 



A tree, in Florida rarely more than 15 high, with a short gnarled contorted trunk 3-4 

 in diameter, stout branches forming a round compact head, and stout terete branchlets, 

 with thick pith, light orange color, marked by oblong pale lenticels, gradually growing 

 darker in their second and third years; frequently a shrub, with semiprostrate stems; in the 

 West Indies often 50 tall. Bark about 3*5' thick, smooth, light brown and marked by 

 large irregular pale blotches. Wood very heavy, hard, close-grained, dark brown or violet 

 color, with thick lighter colored sap wood; sometimes used in cabinet-making. 



