| Chiococca alba | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Gentianales |
| Family: | Rubiaceae |
| Genus: | Chiococca |
| Species: | C.
alba |
| Binomial name | |
| Chiococca alba (L.) Hitchc., 1893 |
|
| Synonyms | |
Chiococca alba is a species of flowering plant in the coffee family, Rubiaceae, that is native to Florida and the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas in the United States,[2] Mexico, Central America, Caribbean, and tropical South America. Common names include David's Milkberry, West Indian Milkberry, Cahinca[3] and West Indian Snowberry.[4] The specific name, alba, means "white" in Latin and refers to the color of its fruits.[5]
West Indian Snowberry is an evergreen[3] woody vine or scrambling shrub that often grows on other vegetation and may reach a height of 6 m (20 ft).[4] 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[6] on racemes or panicles of six of to eight.[7] The fruit is a white drupe 4–7 mm (0.16–0.28 in) in diameter[6] that generally contains two dark brown seeds.[4]
C. 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.[7] The roots have several medicinal uses, including as a laxative, diuretic, emetic, and antidiarrhetic.[4] The plant was sold commercially in Europe and the United States for those purposes at one time.[8]
Classification System: APG II (down to family level)
Main Page
Cladus: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiospermae
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: core
eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Cladus: Euasterids
I
Ordo: Gentianales
Familia: Rubiaceae
Subfamilia: Cinchonoideae
Tribus: Chiococceae
Genus: Chiococca
Species: Chiococca
alba
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