Chrysobalanaceae
How to identify a coco plum tree
Chrysobalanus icaco · also called icaco (Spanish)
Pink-to-purple-black, round fruit with mild, sweet, cottony flesh around a large edible-kernel seed. Among the most salt-tolerant fruiting shrubs on this list, long used to stabilize Caribbean coastlines.
Field marks
We have not written genus field marks for Chrysobalanus yet. Start with the leaf: note whether leaves are opposite or alternate, simple or compound, smooth-edged or toothed, and whether a torn leaf bleeds sap. Our tree identification by leaf guide walks through each feature.
Check a photo
Photograph one whole, mature leaf from above, or a flower or fruit, and the identifier will return ranked matches. If coco plum is the top result, the field marks above are your second opinion.
Leaves, flowers, fruit, or bark — closer and sharper identifies better. Your photo is identified and discarded, never stored.
Where and when you will find it
- Origin / cultivation history
- Caribbean / coastal tropical Americas and West Africa
- USDA zones
- 10-11
- Climate
- Tropical coastal — notably salt- and wind-tolerant, a common coastal dune-stabilization planting across the Caribbean and Florida.
- Fruiting season
- June, July and August (typical, Northern Hemisphere)
- How often grown
- Uncommon in cultivation
Fruit is the most reliable way to confirm an identification, so June, July and August is the easiest window. Outside it, rely on the leaves and the overall habit. A tree growing well outside the climate above is more likely to be a look-alike.
Growing it: seedling or grafted?
A young tree with no fruit is harder to identify and easy to mislabel, so it helps to know how long it takes to reach fruiting age and how it is usually propagated.
- Years to first fruit
- Seedling ~3-5 yrs
- Propagation
- Seed, cuttings.
Map your coco plum trees
CanopyTwin keeps every tree on a map with its species, cultivar, photos and history, and counts flowers and fruit from survey photos. It is built for orchards, nurseries and collectors of tropical and rare fruit.
More identification guides: free plant identifier · tropical fruit tree identifier · fruit tree identifier · all species guides