Milkberry
( Muchenja, David's milkberry, West Indian milkberry, cahinca or West Indian snowberry )
- Chiococca alba
- IUCN Status: Least Concern
- Tree Type: Evergreen
- Kingdom: Plantae
- Clade 1: Tracheophytes
- Clade 2: Angiosperms
- Clade 3: Eudicots
- Clade 4: Asterids
- Order: Gentianales
- Family: Rubiaceae
- Genus: Chiococca
Share:
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.
Fun Facts!
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.
Cultivation
Toxicity and Allergies
Livingstone weather
Livingstone, ZM
6:59 PM,
2 December, 2024
28°C
clear sky