Ardisia escallonioides

Island marlberry
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Apparently Secure (NatureServe) [2]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Ericales
Family:	Primulaceae
Genus:	Ardisia
Species:	A. escallonioides
Binomial name
Ardisia escallonioides Schltdl. & Cham.
Synonyms [3] [4]
Ardisia pickeringiaTorr. & A. Gray ex A. DC. Bladhia paniculata(Nutt.) Sudw. ex Sarg. Cyrilla paniculataNutt. Icacorea paniculata(Nutt.) Sudw. Pickeringia paniculata(Nutt.) Nutt. Tinus escallonioides(Schltdl. & Cham.) Kuntze Tinus pickeringia(Torr. & A. Gray ex A. DC.) Kuntze

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. ^{[5] [6]}

Ardisia escallonioides is a shrub or tree up to 15 m (50 feet) tall. It has elliptic leaves up to 17 cm (7 in) long. Flowers are borne in a panicle of up to 20 flowers. Each flower is white to pink, up to 7 mm (0.3 in) across. Fruits are fleshy drupes up to 7 mm (0.3 in) across, red at first then turning black. ^{[7] [6] [8] [9] [10]}

Uses

Fruits of A. escallonioides are reported to be edible, but some consider the taste to be unpleasant. ^[10]

References

1. IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group; Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) (2020). "Ardisia escallonioides". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020 e.T156754415A156769874. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T156754415A156769874.en . Retrieved 12 November 2022.
2. NatureServe. "Ardisia escallonioides". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia.
3. Tropicos
4. The Plant List
5. Flora of North America Editorial Committee, ed. (2009). "Ardisia escallonioides". Ardisia escallonioides. Vol. 8. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 320 – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, Missouri and Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
6. Davidse, G.; M. Sousa Sánchez; S. Knapp & F. Chiang Cabrera (2009). "Cucurbitaceae a Polemoniaceae. 4(1)". In G. Davidse; M. Sousa Sánchez; S. Knapp & F. Chiang Cabrera (eds.). Flora Mesoamericana (in Spanish). México: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.
7. Schlechtendal, Diederich Franz Leonhard von & Chamisso, Ludolf Karl Adelbert von (1831). "Plantarum Mexicanarum a Cel Viris Schiede et Deppe Collectarum Recensio Brevis". Linnaea. 6 (3): 385–430.
8. Long, R. W.; O. K. Lakela (1971). A Flora of Tropical Florida: A Manual of the Seed Plants and Ferns of Southern Peninsular Florida. University of Miami Press, Coral Cables.
9. Wunderlin, R. P. (1998). Guide to the Vascular Plants of Florida. Gainesville: University Press of Florida.
10. Green Deane. "Ardisias: Berries on the cusp of edible". Eat the Weeds and Other Things Too.