Chiococca alba | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Gentianales |
Family: | Rubiaceae |
Genus: | Chiococca |
Species: | C. alba
|
Binomial name | |
Chiococca alba | |
Synonyms | |
Chiococca alba is a species of flowering plant in the coffee family ( Rubiaceae) native to Florida and the extreme southern tip of Texas in the United States, [4] Bermuda, [3] Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, the Galápagos, and tropical South America. Common names include David's milkberry, West Indian milkberry, cahinca [5] and West Indian snowberry. [6] The specific epithet, alba, means "white" in Latin and refers to the color of its fruits. [7]
West Indian milkberry is an evergreen [5] woody vine or scrambling shrub that often grows on other vegetation and may reach a height of 6 m (20 ft). [6] The opposite, simple leaves are 5–11 cm (2.0–4.3 in) long and may be elliptic to ovate or broadly lanceolate in shape. Yellow, bell-shaped flowers up to 1 cm (0.39 in) in length appear throughout the year [8] on racemes or panicles of six of to eight. [9] The fruit is a white drupe 4–7 mm (0.16–0.28 in) in diameter [8] that generally contains two dark brown seeds. [6]
Lonicera alba was described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus. [10] It was moved to Chiococca in 1893 by A. S. Hitchcock, [2] and is considered the type species of that genus. [11] Stewardson Brown described the Bermuda population of the plant as a new species, C. bermudiana, in 1909 due to its lighter green and larger leaves, larger berries, and wider and longer pedicels. Many authorities consider C. bermudiana a synonym of C. alba. [3]
Chiococca alba is sometimes cultivated as an ornamental for its dark green, evergreen foliage and white drupes. It is used in espalier and grown on trellises. [9] The roots have several uses in herbal medicine, including as a laxative, diuretic, emetic, and antidiarrhoeal. [6] The plant was sold commercially in Europe and the United States for those purposes at one time. [12]
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Chiococca alba | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Gentianales |
Family: | Rubiaceae |
Genus: | Chiococca |
Species: | C. alba
|
Binomial name | |
Chiococca alba | |
Synonyms | |
Chiococca alba is a species of flowering plant in the coffee family ( Rubiaceae) native to Florida and the extreme southern tip of Texas in the United States, [4] Bermuda, [3] Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, the Galápagos, and tropical South America. Common names include David's milkberry, West Indian milkberry, cahinca [5] and West Indian snowberry. [6] The specific epithet, alba, means "white" in Latin and refers to the color of its fruits. [7]
West Indian milkberry is an evergreen [5] woody vine or scrambling shrub that often grows on other vegetation and may reach a height of 6 m (20 ft). [6] The opposite, simple leaves are 5–11 cm (2.0–4.3 in) long and may be elliptic to ovate or broadly lanceolate in shape. Yellow, bell-shaped flowers up to 1 cm (0.39 in) in length appear throughout the year [8] on racemes or panicles of six of to eight. [9] The fruit is a white drupe 4–7 mm (0.16–0.28 in) in diameter [8] that generally contains two dark brown seeds. [6]
Lonicera alba was described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus. [10] It was moved to Chiococca in 1893 by A. S. Hitchcock, [2] and is considered the type species of that genus. [11] Stewardson Brown described the Bermuda population of the plant as a new species, C. bermudiana, in 1909 due to its lighter green and larger leaves, larger berries, and wider and longer pedicels. Many authorities consider C. bermudiana a synonym of C. alba. [3]
Chiococca alba is sometimes cultivated as an ornamental for its dark green, evergreen foliage and white drupes. It is used in espalier and grown on trellises. [9] The roots have several uses in herbal medicine, including as a laxative, diuretic, emetic, and antidiarrhoeal. [6] The plant was sold commercially in Europe and the United States for those purposes at one time. [12]
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