Malpighia coccigera
Encyclopedia
Malpighia coccigera is a species of flowering plant
in the nance
family, Malpighiaceae
, that is native to the Caribbean
. It is commonly known as Dwarf Holly due to the shape of its leaves
, but is not a true holly
(genus Ilex). Its white flowers are followed by red berries
, which are technically drupe
s. The fruit are favorite by birds that disperse the seeds through droppings. It is grown as an ornamental plant
and often used to make bonsai
.
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
in the nance
Nance
Byrsonima crassifolia is a species of flowering plant in the acerola family, Malpighiaceae, that is native to tropical America. It is valued for its small, sweet, yellow fruit, which are strongly scented....
family, Malpighiaceae
Malpighiaceae
Malpighiaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales. It comprises approximately 75 genera and 1300 species, all of which are native to the tropics and subtropics...
, that is native to the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
. It is commonly known as Dwarf Holly due to the shape of its leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
, but is not a true holly
Holly
Ilex) is a genus of 400 to 600 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. The species are evergreen and deciduous trees, shrubs, and climbers from tropics to temperate zones world wide....
(genus Ilex). Its white flowers are followed by red berries
Berry
The botanical definition of a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary. Grapes are an example. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. They may have one or more carpels with a thin covering and fleshy interiors....
, which are technically drupe
Drupe
In botany, a drupe is a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. These fruits develop from a single carpel, and mostly from flowers with superior ovaries...
s. The fruit are favorite by birds that disperse the seeds through droppings. It is grown as an ornamental plant
Ornamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
and often used to make bonsai
Bonsai
is a Japanese art form using miniature trees grown in containers. Similar practices exist in other cultures, including the Chinese tradition of penjing from which the art originated, and the miniature living landscapes of Vietnamese hòn non bộ...
.