Imagen: M. Catesby (1754). Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis

Seagrape

Coccoloba uvifera (L.) L.

Polygonaceae

Shrub native to tropical America, including most of the Caribbean (southern Florida, Bermuda, Bahamas, West Indies), Central American coast, and northern coast of South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela). The name of the genus derives from the Greek kokkos, 'berry' and lobos, 'lobe', in clear allusion to its fruits that are born like bunches of grapes, to which its specific epithet also refers (from the Latin uva and the suffix -fer, 'to bear').

It grows in tropical coastal areas (it does not tolerate cold), tolerating salinity very well. The fruit, very aromatic, can be eaten raw or in jams, and when fermented it produces a wine-like beverage, or for rum.