Randia aculeata L.

White indigoberry (en)

Species

Angiosperms > Gentianales > Rubiaceae > Randia

Characteristics

Shrubs or trees to 6 m tall, the branches well spaced, terete or 4-angled, usually distichous, the branchlets angular, stout, glabrous, short or long, 2-15 cm long, the bark drying dark, often cracking, usually with 2 stout subulate spines at the subterminal position or occasionally along branchlets, the spines bicornuate in appearance, spreading, (0.6-)1.0-2.0 cm long, lignose. Leaves polymorphic, broadly obovate-oblong, 1.0-5.5(-9.0) cm long, 0.8-3.2(-5.0) cm wide, variable in size on the same branch, rounded or obtuse at the apex, occasionally truncate, attenuate acute at the base, the costa prominulous above and beneath, the lateral veins 4-5, at first strict, then arcuate and anastomosing to form a submarginal undulate vein, the latter ca. 5 mm from the margin, the margin conspicuously emarginate, chartaceous to coriaceous, concolorous, glabrous, lustrous; petioles absent or to 1 mm long; stipules subtriangular, to 2.5 mm long, to 3 mm wide at base, apiculate. Flowers clustered at the apex of the twigs, perfect, sessile or subsessile, the hypanthium and calyx to 1 mm long, pubescent, the calycine teeth 5, erect, subulate, corolla white, the tube 4-8 mm long, cylindrical, the lobes 5, lanceolate, often longer than the tube, villose at the mouth within; stamens 5; the anthers oblong, ca. 4 mm long, included or exserted; style slender, the stigmas short. Fruits sessile, rotund, 1.0-1.2 cm in diam., glabrous or minutely puberu-lent, occasionally farinose, delicately ribbed.
More
A shrub or small tree. It grows 2-6 m tall. The leaves are leathery and spiny. They are clustered near the tips of the branches. The leaves are simple, round and 5 cm long. The flowers are white and tube shaped. The fruit are white. They are almost black inside.
Life form perennial
Growth form
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality dioecy
Pollination entomogamy
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 4.0 - 6.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

Thickets and open forests, mainly in drier areas in the coastal, limestone and lower montane regions of Puerto Rico. Unburned pinelands and along the margins of coastal hammocks in Florida. Plants seldom, if ever, form thickets.
More
It is a tropical and subtropical plant. It grows in dry and moist forests especially on limestone. It grows between 700-2,200 m above sea level.
Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

Usage

The fruit are eaten raw. They turn the tongue blue.
Uses dye material medicinal wood
Edible fruits seeds
Therapeutic use Anodyne (unspecified), Apertif (unspecified), Bruise (unspecified), Diaphoretic (unspecified), Diarrhea (unspecified), Insecticide (unspecified), Repellant(Insect) (unspecified), Nervine (unspecified), Piscicide (unspecified), Sedative (unspecified), Spasm (unspecified), Teething (unspecified), Dysentery (unspecified), Rheumatism (unspecified), Astringent (unspecified), Ache(Bones) (unspecified), Calmative (unspecified), Bite(Snake) (unspecified), Bones (unspecified), Fever (unspecified), Infection (unspecified), Sore (unspecified), Chill (unspecified), Afterbirth (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Plants can be grown from seeds.
Mode seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Leaf

Randia aculeata leaf picture by Nelson Zamora Villalobos (cc-by-nc)
Randia aculeata leaf picture by bridget marquez (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Randia aculeata flower picture by Gregory PIRARD (cc-by-sa)

Fruit

Randia aculeata fruit picture by Nelson Zamora Villalobos (cc-by-nc)
Randia aculeata fruit picture by Nelson Zamora Villalobos (cc-by-nc)
Randia aculeata fruit picture by Nelson Zamora Villalobos (cc-by-nc)

Distribution

Randia aculeata world distribution map, present in Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Haiti, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, United States of America, and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)

Conservation status

Randia aculeata threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:763958-1
WFO ID wfo-0000294284
COL ID 792Z5
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID 630527
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Randia aculeata Randia spinosa Solena randia Gardenia randia Gardenia aculeata Genipa aculeata Randia latifolia var. micrantha

Lower taxons

Randia aculeata var. aculeata Randia aculeata var. dasyclada Randia aculeata var. jamaicensis