Gardening in Florida: Sea grapes are good for the landscape and the fruits are great for jelly
A neighbor stopped me in the grocery store the other day, he wanted to know what he could do to prevent the sea grape tree in his yard from dropping fruit all over the lawn and driveway. The best answer I have for him is pick them and make jelly for both holiday dinners and gift giving.
The versatile sea grape is known as Coccoloba uvifera to horticulturists is a common, native plant in Florida, the Caribbean, and South America. It is found in coastal hammocks and landscapes from central Florida southward. It is a variable plant and can be evergreen, semi-deciduous, or deciduous. The leaves are large, up to 8 inches across and circular or platter-shaped with a heart shaped base. My neighbor has done a nice job of pruning his tree and has a view of the beautiful bark; it is smooth, gray and sloughs in plates leaving a variety of colors from white to green to brown.
Sea grape flowers are ivory colored and produced on stalked spikes (racemes) in the spring, which grow to 10 inches in length. Male and female flowers are borne on separate plants and require the presence of bees and other insects for pollination. The flowers on female plants are followed by red-purple edible fruits which are ½ to 1 inch across. The fruits usually appear on plants from August through October on the Treasure Coast.
Sea grape fruit is edible, sweet with some acidity and an unremarkable flavor. The most common uses for the fruits are for making wine or jelly. It is the jelly I remember from my childhood. Sea grape fruits are small, full of seeds and a lot of fruit is needed to extract enough juice to use in the kitchen, about a quart of fruit will yield about a cup of juice.
Pick sea grapes only from known areas with landowner’s permission. Avoid coastal environments as sea grapes are protected by law along the dunes and barriers. If picking from a landscape location, do so with caution, many landscapes are treated with pesticides which could migrate to the fruit.
Granny Cloud had us cover the fruit clusters with a bag and shake. This would dislodge the ripe fruits, leaving the unripe ones to be harvested a few days later. The ripe fruits were boiled with a small amount of water until the fruits were very soft, then mashed, and the juice extracted by straining through cheesecloth. The pretty pink juice was mixed with sugar and a bit of citrus juice, cooked to the right temperature, and poured into jars. Check out the USDA’s guide for Preparing Canning Jams and Jellies for general recipes and safe handling instructions at https://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/usda/GUIDE07_HomeCan_rev0715.pdf
There is no cure for dropping fruit other than collecting it for disposal – composting would be good after collection. It is possible to clip the flower stalks from the trees before fruit develops, but this is a labor-intensive task as it should be done by hand. Instead, collect the fruit for use in the kitchen. This Thanksgiving try a little sea grape jelly brushed over roasted sweet potatoes for a tropical treat.
Carol Cloud Bailey is a landscape counselor and horticulturist. Send questions to email@example.com or visit www.yard-doc.com for more information.