Coccoloba (sect. Paniculatae) Meisn. Fl. Bras.

Coccoloba sect. Paniculatae Meisn. Fl. Bras. 5(1): 43. Type. Coccoloba mollis Casar. Description: —Trees or shrubs, 2‒30 m, hermaphroditic, functionally unisexual, or polygamous-dioecious; stem squamose, glabrous or striate; branches solid, lenticelate, glabrous, pulverulent or puberulent; ochrea tubular, some deciduous, glabrous or with indumentum, apex entire, or lacerate. Leaves simple, alternate; petioles up to 5 cm, glabrous or with indumentum, originating from the base or middle part of the ochrea; leaf-blades broadly elliptic, lanceolate, ovate or oblong-lanceolate, membranous or chartaceous, glabrous or with some degree of indumentum, base cordate, attenuate, or asymmetrical, apex rounded, acute, acuminate or long acuminate. Inflorescences racemiform or spiciform, paniculate, monopodial or sympodial with 2‒4 branched or>5 branches, pilose, pubescent, puberulent or rarely glabrous; functionally male flowers fasciculate, 2‒5 flowers per bracteole; functionally female flowers 1- per bracteole; fruit acrosarcum, obpyramidal, triangular, ovoid, globose or subglobose, pilose or glabrous, achene completely surrounded by the hypanthium or ¾ of its length, globose, subglobose, obpyramidal, ovoid, apex crested, cuspidate, campanulate, conical or mimiform. Species included: — Coccoloba sect. Paniculatae includes 17 species distributed from Mexico to Brazil, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.