Coccoloba obovata Kunth

Species

Angiosperms > Caryophyllales > Polygonaceae > Coccoloba

Characteristics

Shrub of 3 m. to tree 15 m. tall; branches terete, glabrous; ocreae oblique, truncate, 7-10 mm. long, glabrous, membranaceous, striate, appressed; leaves of normal shoots with petioles 12-15 mm. long, pilose or glabrous, inserted above the base of the ocreae, blades obovate to subround-obovate, rarely ovate-lanceolate to elliptic obovate, 9 X 6, 10 X 4, 16 X 8 to 24 X 9.5 cm. long and wide, apex obtusely acuminate, base slightly cordate, coriaceous, turning dark brown or black on drying, tomentulose on the midrib and veins, persistent, short pilose in the axils of the veins and midrib, commonly densely covered with globose or peltate excretions associated with the stomata; leaves of adventitious shoots with petioles 3.5-6 cm. long, blades broadly elliptic-ovate to elliptic-oblong, 28 X 14 to 37 X 26 cm. long and wide; inflorescence terminal, solitary, densely flowered, staminate to 25 cm. long, pistillate to 17 cm. long, the flowers borne singly in the pistillate and in clusters of 4 in the staminate, peduncle, rachis, bracts and ocreolae short pilose, bracts semi-orbicular, 0.75 mm. long, ocreolae bibbed 1.5 mm. long, mem-branaceous, usually in multiples, pedicels included in the ocreolae in flower, exserted and to 1.5 mm. long in fruit, hypanthium 0.75 mm. long, the lobes ovate or nearly orbicular, to 1 mm. long, functional stamens exserted, sterile stamens included, ovary triangular, styles 3; fruit globose, obtusely-trigonous, strongly striate, the base rounded, the apex obtusely coronate, 6 mm. long, 5.5 mm. in diameter; achene tan to dark brown, trigonous.
More
A small tree.
Life form -
Growth form tree
Growth support -
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality -
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 15.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color -
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

It is a tropical plant.
Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

Usage

The pulp of the fruit is eaten raw.
Uses -
Edible fruits
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
Germination duration (days) 10 - 21
Germination temperacture (C°) 18 - 21
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment soaking
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Leaf

Coccoloba obovata leaf picture by Nelson Zamora Villalobos (cc-by-nc)

Distribution

Coccoloba obovata world distribution map, present in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Panama

Conservation status

Coccoloba obovata threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:693787-1
WFO ID wfo-0000613271
COL ID WL2C
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Coccoloba riparia Coccoloba obovata Coccoloba coriacea Coccoloba coriacea Coccoloba goudotiana