Chiococca alba West Indian Snow Berry, David's rot, Skunk-root, Snowberry. PFAF Plant Database

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Summary

Physical Characteristics

Chiococca alba is an evergreen Shrub growing to 6 m (19ft) by 7 m (23ft) at a medium rate.
See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10.
Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.

UK Hardiness Map US Hardiness Map

Synonyms

Chiococca anguifuga DC. Chiococca racemosa L.

Plant Habitats

Edible Uses

None known

References More on Edible Uses

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

The herb is used in some regions for treating snake bites[46 ]. The root is a drastic purgative[348 ]. The roots have several uses in herbal medicine, including as a laxative, diuretic, emetic, and antidiarrhoeal. The plant was sold commercially in Europe and the United States for those purposes at one time.

References More on Medicinal Uses

Other Uses

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.

Special Uses

Carbon Farming Espalier

References More on Other Uses

Cultivation details

Experimental Crop Industrial Crop: Hydrocarbon Management: Coppice

A plant of the humid tropics[200 ].

Carbon Farming

Experimental Crop Plant breeders are testing these plants to see if they could be domesticated for cultivation, but they are still in an experimental phase. Examples include milkweed and leafy spurge.
Industrial Crop: Hydrocarbon Materials, chemicals and energy include bioplastics, rubber, biomass products gasoline, jet fuel, diesel, butane, propane, biogas. Plants are usually resprouting plants and saps.
Management: Coppice Cut to the ground repeatedly - resprouting vigorously. Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.

References Carbon Farming Information and Carbon Sequestration Information

Temperature Converter

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Plant Propagation

Seed

Other Names

If available other names are mentioned here

Acetillo, Arito, Cainana, Cainca, Caninana, David's milkberry, West Indian milkberry, cahinca and West Indian snowberry.

Native Range

NORTHERN AMERICA: United States (Florida, Texas (south)), Mexico (Baja California Sur, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, Campeche, Chiapas, Colima, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, México, Michoacán de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Querétaro, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, Yucatán) SOUTHERN AMERICA: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis (Saint Kitts), St. Lucia, Montserrat, Martinique, Trinidad and Tobago, United States (Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, U.S., Virgin Islands, U.S., Virgin Islands, U.S.), St. Vincent and Grenadines, Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guyana, Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, Paraguay

Weed Potential

Right plant wrong place. We are currently updating this section. Please note that a plant may be invasive in one area but may not in your area so it's worth checking.

None Known

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants Status : Status: Least Concern

IUCN Red List

Related Plants

Latin Name	Common Name	Habit	Height	Hardiness	Growth	Soil	Shade	Moisture	Edible	Medicinal	Other

Growth: S = slow M = medium F = fast. Soil: L = light (sandy) M = medium H = heavy (clay). pH: A = acid N = neutral B = basic (alkaline). Shade: F = full shade S = semi-shade N = no shade. Moisture: D = dry M = Moist We = wet Wa = water.

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Expert comment

Author

(L.) Hitchc.

Botanical References

Links / References

For a list of references used on this page please go here
A special thanks to Ken Fern for some of the information used on this page.

Chiococca alba - (L.) Hitchc.