Cocculus carolinus
Encyclopedia
Cocculus carolinus, otherwise known as Carolina Coralbead, Redberry Moonseed or the Carolina snailseed, is a vine of the genus Cocculus
. It is indigenous to several states in the United States
along the south
to midwest
. It gets its name from the bright red color of the marble-like berry that protrudes from the leaves of the plant.
, woody
vine
that can twine along the trunks of several tress or along the ground. It occurs in timberline areas, rocky woods, glades, fence rows and ponds. Carolina Coralbead can grow 10-12 ft (3-3.6 m) and usually spaced within 3-4 ft (90-120 cm) of one another. If ingested in large amounts, the berry on Cocculus carolinus can be poisonous, but the overall toxicity of its berries do not prove to be fatal. In areas in Little Rock, Arkansas
, the Carolina Coralbead is referred to as an invasive weed system which seedlings have been spread by birds. Once a root system has been established, it is hard to remove the plant, so planting in new areas has been a point of concern for this species. The best ornamental features of the plant are its foliage and its attractive red berries in fall.
, Arkansas
, Kansas
, Mississippi
, North Carolina
, Oklahoma
, Tennessee
and Texas
. Common environments favoring this species are open woodlands and openings in forest canopies and exposed areas such as along streambanks and roads.
of 3 months. Seeds germinate in 21-30 days at 68° F. Bloom time for the plant is in late Spring and mature by late Summer. They grow in tight abundant amounts of bright red berries. By utilizing its scarlet fruits for aesthetic effects, landscapers allow it to be grown on trellises, fences or let naturally flourish through other weeds and shrubs. The berries should not be eaten by people but are eaten by a large number of birds. Each fruit has a single seed that resembles a small snail shell, protected by the hard endocarp or the inner section of the ovary wall.
s, (+)quercitol and (−)viburnitol; a lactone
, loliolide; and three alkaloid
s, sinoacutine, magnoflorine, and palmatine
.
Cocculus
Cocculus is a genus of 11 species of woody vines and shrubs, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of North America, Asia and Africa. The common name Moonseed is also used for the closely related genus Menispermum. The related Indian Berry is known as "Cocculus Indicus" in...
. It is indigenous to several states in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
along the south
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
to midwest
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
. It gets its name from the bright red color of the marble-like berry that protrudes from the leaves of the plant.
Description
The Carolina Coralbead is a deciduousDeciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
, woody
Woody plant
A woody plant is a plant that uses wood as its structural tissue. These are typically perennial plants whose stems and larger roots are reinforced with wood produced adjacent to the vascular tissues. The main stem, larger branches, and roots of these plants are usually covered by a layer of...
vine
Vine
A vine in the narrowest sense is the grapevine , but more generally it can refer to any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent, that is to say climbing, stems or runners...
that can twine along the trunks of several tress or along the ground. It occurs in timberline areas, rocky woods, glades, fence rows and ponds. Carolina Coralbead can grow 10-12 ft (3-3.6 m) and usually spaced within 3-4 ft (90-120 cm) of one another. If ingested in large amounts, the berry on Cocculus carolinus can be poisonous, but the overall toxicity of its berries do not prove to be fatal. In areas in Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
, the Carolina Coralbead is referred to as an invasive weed system which seedlings have been spread by birds. Once a root system has been established, it is hard to remove the plant, so planting in new areas has been a point of concern for this species. The best ornamental features of the plant are its foliage and its attractive red berries in fall.
- Temperature: Can grow in temperatures ranging from -3.8 °C (25 °F) to -28.8 °C (-20 °F).
- Interesting Feature: easily recognizable due to its leaf which is shaped like an elephant's head.
- Leaves: covered in short hairs and should not be confused with the species Smilax bona-nox, which has tendrils and prickles.
Distribution
Carolina Coralbead has been reported in the states of AlabamaAlabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
and Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. Common environments favoring this species are open woodlands and openings in forest canopies and exposed areas such as along streambanks and roads.
Cultivation
The flowers are small, and plentiful. At a young age, Carolina Coralbead appear greenish. The seed need cold stratificationStratification (botany)
In horticulture, stratification is the process of pretreating seeds to simulate natural winter conditions that a seed must endure before germination. Many seed species undergo an embryonic dormancy phase, and generally will not sprout until this dormancy is broken...
of 3 months. Seeds germinate in 21-30 days at 68° F. Bloom time for the plant is in late Spring and mature by late Summer. They grow in tight abundant amounts of bright red berries. By utilizing its scarlet fruits for aesthetic effects, landscapers allow it to be grown on trellises, fences or let naturally flourish through other weeds and shrubs. The berries should not be eaten by people but are eaten by a large number of birds. Each fruit has a single seed that resembles a small snail shell, protected by the hard endocarp or the inner section of the ovary wall.
Chemical components
Through photochemical analysis using spectral and mixed-melting comparison, it was discovered that the stems and leaves of Cocculus carolinus consisted of six compounds: two cyclitolCyclitol
Cyclitols are cycloalkanes containing one hydroxyl group on three or more ring atoms. They are cyclic polyols. Cyclitols are one of the compatible solutes which are formed in a plant as a response to salt or water stress...
s, (+)quercitol and (−)viburnitol; a lactone
Lactone
In chemistry, a lactone is a cyclic ester which can be seen as the condensation product of an alcohol group -OH and a carboxylic acid group -COOH in the same molecule...
, loliolide; and three alkaloid
Alkaloid
Alkaloids are a group of naturally occurring chemical compounds that contain mostly basic nitrogen atoms. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Also some synthetic compounds of similar structure are attributed to alkaloids...
s, sinoacutine, magnoflorine, and palmatine
Palmatine
Palmatine is a protoberberine alkaloid found in several plants including Phellodendron amurense, Rhizoma coptidis/Coptis Chinensis and Corydalis yanhusuo.It is the major component of the protoberberine extract from Enantia chlorantha....
.