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Chiococca alba - (L.) Hitchc.

Common Name West Indian Snow Berry, David's rot, Skunk-root, Snowberry.
Family Rubiaceae
USDA hardiness 10-12
Known Hazards None known
Habitats Tropical moist forests[315 ].
Range S. America from Bolivia north through Central America to Florida and the West Indies.
Edibility Rating    (0 of 5)
Other Uses    (1 of 5)
Weed Potential No
Medicinal Rating    (2 of 5)
Care (info)
Tender Moist Soil Full sun
Chiococca alba West Indian Snow Berry, David


edibleplants.org
Chiococca alba West Indian Snow Berry, David
flickr.com Homer Edward Price

 

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Summary


Physical Characteristics

 icon of manicon of shrub
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

The Bookshop: Edible Plant Books

Our Latest books on Perennial Plants For Food Forests and Permaculture Gardens in paperback or digital formats.

Food Forest Plants for Hotter Conditions: 250+ Plants For Tropical Food Forests & Permaculture Gardens.
Edible Tropical Plants

Food Forest Plants for Hotter Conditions: 250+ Plants For Tropical Food Forests & Permaculture Gardens.

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Plants for Your Food Forest: 500 Plants for Temperate Food Forests & Permaculture Gardens.
Edible Temperate Plants

Plants for Your Food Forest: 500 Plants for Temperate Food Forests & Permaculture Gardens.

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PFAF have eight books available in paperback and digital media.
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PFAF have eight books available in paperback and digital formats. Browse the shop for more information.

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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

Type a value in the Celsius field to convert the value to Fahrenheit:

Fahrenheit:

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The PFAF Bookshop

Plants For A Future have a number of books available in paperback and digital form. Book titles include Edible Plants, Edible Perennials, Edible Trees,Edible Shrubs, Woodland Gardening, and Temperate Food Forest Plants. Our new book is Food Forest Plants For Hotter Conditions (Tropical and Sub-Tropical).

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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

Related Plants
Latin NameCommon NameHabitHeightHardinessGrowthSoilShadeMoistureEdibleMedicinalOther

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.

 

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.

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