Milkberry
( Muchenja, David's milkberry, West Indian milkberry, cahinca or West Indian snowberry )
- Chiococca alba
- Tree Type: Evergreen
General Information
Milkberry is an evergreen woody vine or scrambling shrub that often grows on other vegetation and may reach a height of 6 m (20 ft). 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 on racemes or panicles of six of to eight.Description
The fruit is a white drupe 4–7 mm (0.16–0.28 in) in diameter that generally contains two dark brown seeds.Uses
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. The roots have several uses in herbal medicine, including as a laxative, diuretic, emetic, and antidiarrhoeal.Share:
- Kingdom: Plantae
- Clade 1: Tracheophytes
- Clade 2: Angiosperms
- Clade 3: Eudicots
- Clade 4: Asterids
- Order: Gentianales
- Family: Rubiaceae
- Genus: Chiococca
