Phytolacca rivinoides

Content

Description

Woody herb or subshrub to 3(-5) m tall. Stem ribbed, angled, glabrous. Leaves ovate, elliptical, lanceolate or oblong, to 21 x 8 cm, apex acute or acuminate, base acute or obtuse, glabrous, with pink-tinged veins, calcium oxalate raphides in epidermis visible with lens; petiole glabrous, 1-7 cm long. Inflorescence a many-floweredterminal or (pseudolateral) axillary raceme to 65(-70) cm long, to ca. 4 cm wide, simple (or rarely with 1-2 long branches from near base), much longer than leaves, rachis turning bright purple, glabrous; flowers widely spaced; bracts subtending pedicel linear, lance-linear or lanceolate, 1.5-5 mm long, hyaline; bracteoles 1-2, inserted randomly along pedicel but sometimes paired or subopposite, linear, 0.4-1.5 mm long; pedicels glabrous, pink, slender, 5-17 mm long. Tepals ovate, 1.2-2.8 x 1.5 mm, obtuse, white or pink, membranous, glabrous, becoming reflexed, deciduous in fruit; stamens (7-)9-14(-22), filaments 1.5-2 mm, anthers elliptical, 0.8 mm, cordate at base and apex; ovary of 9-16(-18) connate carpels, styles 10-16, slender, appressed-recurved, white. Berry becoming dark purple or black, with red juice, depressed globose, 6-8 mm diam., when dry 2-8 mm wide, ribbed at carpel-margins; seeds 9-18 (1 seed per carpel), ovoid, 1-2.6 x 1.3-2 mm, biconvex, black, shining.

Distribution

Argentina present, Guianas present, New World tropics present, Northern America, Southern America, south to Bolivia present, southern Brazil present

New World tropics (West Indies, Mexicosouth to Bolivia, Argentina and southern Brazil); 121 collections studied, all from the Guianas (GU: 41; SU: 34; FG: 46).

Common Name

English (French Guiana): bichouillac, macoco; English (Guyana): buck bhajee, deer kalaloo; English (Suriname): blaka-wiwiri, gogomago, makoko

Uses

Often cultivated in Suriname for the leaves, which are boiled and eaten as a vegetable (Ostendorf, 1962 and herbarium label of Hugh-Jones 25). As noted by Lachman-White et al. (1987), in Guyana "The leaves and young stems are eaten as a remedy for diabetes and a decoction of roots is drunk as a treatment for syphilis." Also, in Guyana the leaves are eaten raw in salad or cooked (label of Kvist 5). Further noted as consumed as a green-leafed vegetable in Guyana (label of Archer 2295) and French Guiana (label of Mori et al. 21186).

Wood

Woody herb or subshrub .1

1. 001

Notes

The number of stamens per flower is variable; our observations include 15-22 (Gleason 194), 12-20 (Gleason 55) and 9-10 (Gleason 826). Occasionally a second flower, sessile or with a glabrous pedicel, will be formed upon the main pedicel of a P. rivinoides flower, but the phenomenon never extends to the condition of numerous multi-pedicels that pertains in P. thyrsiflora, which has pubescent pedicels; specimens of such P. rivinoides are Jansen-Jacobs et al. 1546 and de la Cruz 4481 from Guyana, and Jacquemin 1467 from French Guiana.
Normally P. rivinoides has glabrous pedicels, but occasionally they are densely beset with the sessile gland-like dots or excrescences which are typical of pedicels of P. thyrsiflora; such specimens (e.g., Hahn 5676 from Guyana) are, however, without the 2- to 3-flowered and -pedicellate axes of P. thyrsiflora. In P. thyrsiflora some of the gland-like dots or excrescences are sometimes produced into sparsely puberulous areas of trichomes to 0.5 mm.
Dried specimens may superficially resemble Rivina humilis; both taxa have glabrous pedicels, but the pedicel-bracteoles of R. humilis directly subtend the flower, whereas the pedicel-bracteoles of Phytolacca rivinoides are inserted randomly along the pedicel, sometimes near the middle and paired. However, this species has leaves with a rounded or truncate, not acute to obtuse, base; in the field, with its green inflorescence and orange to red-purple, globose berries, confusion is not possible.