Coccoloba uvifera variegata
Family: Polygonaceae 150 species of trees, shrubs and lianas woody vine
Common Name(s): Variegated platterleaf seagrape, Jamaican King
Grown by: Bruce Peters, San Francisco
coccoloba - ancient name for a type of grape borrowed for this plant because of the grapelike fruit
uvi - grape
fera - bearing
The stoutly trunked sea grape hails from ocean margins of American tropics and can attain 30-inch leaves and dense clusters of white fragrant flowers followed by grape-like bunches of fruits ripening purple. Fruits contain one large seed surrounded by a thin layer of flesh. When gathered en masse they can be made into a jam.
The yellow variegation on this selection will overheat and burn if not given enough humidity and air circulation to allow the leaf to keep itself cool.
