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Sea grape

Coccoloba uvifera

Sea grape is a native Florida coastal tree with huge, round, leathery leaves and hanging clusters of grape-like fruit. It shrugs off salt spray, sand and drought, so it's a favorite seaside screen or shade tree. Female trees bear the fruit, which is eaten fresh or made into jelly.

Tree facts

Scientific name
Coccoloba uvifera
Origin
Coastal Florida, the Caribbean, Central America and northern South America
Tree size
35–50 ft tall and 20–30 ft wide; easily kept as a hedge or small multi-trunk tree
Growth rate
Medium
Sun
Full sun is best; takes partial shade.
Soil
Sandy, well-drained soil; handles salty soil and salt spray. Water young plants regularly until established, then it's very drought tolerant.
Soil pH
No reliable figure; tolerates both acid and alkaline soils
Pollination
Male and female flowers grow on separate trees, and only females fruit. Plant a female, and a male too if no other sea grapes grow nearby.
Cold hardiness
Sensitive to frost and freezes; no reliable temperature limit in the sources used
USDA zones
10–11 (reported as far north as 9a)
Years to first fruit
No reliable data
Season
Aug–Oct
Water
About every 21 days once established, without rain; more in heat, in pots and while young
Taste
Sweet-tart, often compared to muscadine; a thin layer of flesh over a large seed
Nutrition
No reliable nutrition figures in the sources used

Is sea grape safe to eat? Edible and toxic parts

What you can eat

  • Ripe fruit, fresh or cooked into jelly

Toxic parts and cautions

  • Take care: Florida protects sea grapes on beaches and dunes: damaging or removing them there needs a permit, light trimming that doesn't harm the plant may be exempt, and local rules can be stricter. Picking someone else's sea grapes without permission is against state law.
  • Good to know: Each fruit is mostly one large seed; eat the flesh around it.
  • Good to know: The big leaves drop all year and rot slowly, so expect raking.

Pets: No reliable data on toxicity for dogs, cats or other pets.

How to eat and enjoy sea grape

  • Fresh off the cluster
  • Sea grape jelly

When it's ripe

Flowers come mostly in spring and early summer; fruit forms in summer and ripens from late summer into fall, turning reddish purple to deep purple. Clusters ripen unevenly, so pick the soft, dark fruit a few at a time. Birds and squirrels compete for them.

Storing it

No reliable data on keeping quality; best eaten or cooked soon after picking.

Pests and diseases to watch for

  • Scale insects

    Small bumps, waxy or shell-like, on stems and leaf veins; sticky honeydew and black sooty mold below.

    What to do: Scrub small colonies off with a soft brush.

  • Mealybugs

    White cottony clusters in leaf joints, under leaves and on fruit stems; honeydew and sooty mold.

    What to do: Blast off with a strong spray of water.

  • Aphids

    Clusters of tiny soft insects on new shoots; leaves curl and get sticky.

    What to do: Spray off with water.

  • Sooty mold

    Black, papery film on leaves and fruit that wipes off; it grows on honeydew.

    What to do: Control the insects making honeydew; the mold then weathers away.

  • Spider mites

    Fine pale speckling on leaves, dusty undersides and fine webbing; leaves bronze and drop.

    What to do: Hose the undersides of leaves.

Growing sea grapes? Let Yardkin keep track.

Yardkin tells you when your sea grape needs water based on your local weather, reminds you to feed and prune in season, and keeps every harvest and photo.

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General guidance, not medical or veterinary advice. Poison Control (US): 1-800-222-1222. ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435.