Pigeon Plum
Coccoloba diversifolia
Plant Family: Polygonaceae
Leaves: Alternate, simple, leathery, elliptic to oval, to 10 cm on mature trees, but young shoots may have much longer and larger leaves (as compared); the leaf petioles clasp the stem.
Bark: Gray to brown, scaly, the trunk on mature specimens has a muscular appearance.
Flowers: Dioecious, white, in racemes in the leaf axils from spring into summer.
Fruits: Rounded, green, ripening to dark red, to 1 cm in diameter, held in racemes on the female plant from summer into fall; relished by birds.
Habitat: Hammocks
Growth Form: Small to medium-sized tree.
Similar Species: Pigeon Plum is related to Sea Grape (Coccoloba uvifera), but the large round leaves of that tree are unmistakable.
Comments: Pigeon Plum is one of south Florida’s more common hammock trees; learn to recognize it by the leaf petioles that clasp the stem and the elliptic to oval leathery leaves that vary greatly in size (hence the specific name).
