Island marlberry

Description

Ardisia escallonioides, the Island marlberry, is a plant species native to the West Indies and neighboring areas. It has been reported from Barbados, Bermuda, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Florida. Ardisia escallonioides is a shrub or tree up to 15 m (50 feet) tall. It has elliptic leaves up to 17 cm (7 inches) long. Flowers are borne in a panicle of up to 20 flowers. Each flower is white to pink, up to 7 mm (0.3 inches) across. Fruits are fleshy drupes up to 7 mm (0.3 inches) across, red at first then turning black. Fruits of A. escallonioides are reported to be edible, but some consider the taste to be unpleasant. Ardisia (coralberry or marlberry) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. It was in the former Myrsinaceae family now recognised as the myrsine sub-family Myrsinoideae. They are distributed in the Americas, Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands, mainly in the tropics. There are over 700 accepted species. One species, Ardisia japonica is one of the 50 fundamental herbs in traditional Chinese medicine. These are trees, shrubs, and subshrubs. Most have alternately arranged leaves. Flowers are borne in many forms of inflorescence. The flowers have usually 4 or 5 green sepals and a bell-shaped corolla of usually 4 or 5 white or pink petals. The fruit is a somewhat fleshy drupe. The defining characteristic of the genus is the small tube formed at the center of the flower by the stamens, which are joined at their bases.