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Plant Sea Grapes

Sea grape (Coccoluba uvifera) is a tropical shrub native to coastal hammocks, dunes and beaches of south Florida and the Keys. It has round evergreen leaves and produces edible purplish fruits, making it a wonderful backyard plant for coastal residents who care about wildlife. The fruit is eaten by raccoons, turtles and various bird species, especially catbirds, mockingbirds, robins, white-crowned pigeons and woodpeckers.

Pollen-rich sea grape also is a great friend to honeybees, which swarm among the small, whitish, fragrant flowers produced in abundance on long racemes in late spring or early summer. Butterflies - Schaus' swallowtail, ruddy dagger wing and fulvous hairstreak - are attracted to the flowers.

For lush, productive plants (with space the sea grape can grow to 35 feet), do not prune, except to remove dead wood and unwanted branches. A line of closely planted sea grape makes an effective screen for a border of your yard, or as a buffer between lights on your property and the beach. Fruit is produced only on female trees but a male tree must be present for pollination.