Rivina humilis
Encyclopedia
Rivina humilis is a species of flowering plant
in the pokeweed
family, Phytolaccaceae
, that is native to the Americas
. It can be found in the southern United States
, the Caribbean
, Central America
, and tropical
South America
. Common names include Pigeonberry, Rouge Plant, Baby Peppers, Bloodberry, and Coralito. The specific epithet means "dwarfish" or "lowly" in Latin
, referring to the plant's short stature.
-like herb
, reaching a height of 0.4–2 m (1.3–6.6 ft). The leaves
of this evergreen
perennial
are up to 15 cm (5.9 in) wide and 9 cm (3.5 in), with a petiole
1–11 cm (0.393700787401575–4.3 in) in length. Flower
s are on raceme
s 4–15 cm (1.6–5.9 in) long with a peduncle
1–5 cm (0.393700787401575–2 in) in length and pedicels
2–8 mm (0.078740157480315–0.31496062992126 in) long. Sepal
s are 1.5–3.5 mm (0.0590551181102362–0.137795275590551 in) in length and white or green to pink or purplish. The fruit
is a glossy, bright red berry
2.5–5 mm (0.0984251968503937–0.196850393700787 in) in diameter.
s, thicket
s, shell middens, hammocks
, roadsides, and disturbed areas
at elevations from sea level to 1700 m (5,577.4 ft). It requires less than partial sun and is tolerant
of full shade. It is also tolerant
of salt spray and saline soil
s.
in warm regions throughout the world and is valued as a shade-tolerant
groundcover
. It is also grown as a houseplant
and in greenhouse
s. Juice
made from the berries
was used as a dye
and ink
at one time. The berries contain a pigment
known as Rivianin or Rivinianin, which has the IUPAC name
5-O-β-D-Glucopyranoside, 3-sulfate, CAS number
58115-21-2, and molecular formula
C24H26N2O16S. It is very similar to betanin
, the pigment found in beet
s.
s of Goodson's Greenstreak (Cyanophrys goodsoni)
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 pokeweed
Pokeweed
The pokeweeds, also known as pokebush, pokeberry, pokeroot, poke sallet, polk salad, polk salat, polk sallet, inkberry or ombú, comprise the genus Phytolacca, perennial plants native to North America, South America, East Asia and New Zealand...
family, Phytolaccaceae
Phytolaccaceae
Phytolaccaceae is the botanical name for a family of flowering plants. Such a family has been almost universally recognized by taxonomists, although its circumscription has varied. It is also known as the Pokeweed family....
, that is native to the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
. It can be found in the southern United States
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...
, 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...
, Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
, and tropical
Tropics
The tropics is a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at S; these latitudes correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth...
South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. Common names include Pigeonberry, Rouge Plant, Baby Peppers, Bloodberry, and Coralito. The specific epithet means "dwarfish" or "lowly" in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, referring to the plant's short stature.
Description
Pigeonberry is an erect, vineVine
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...
-like herb
Herbaceous plant
A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...
, reaching a height of 0.4–2 m (1.3–6.6 ft). The 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....
of this evergreen
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
perennial
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
are up to 15 cm (5.9 in) wide and 9 cm (3.5 in), with a petiole
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
1–11 cm (0.393700787401575–4.3 in) in length. Flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are on raceme
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
s 4–15 cm (1.6–5.9 in) long with a peduncle
Peduncle (botany)
In botany, a peduncle is a stem supporting an inflorescence, or after fecundation, an infructescence.The peduncle is a stem, usually green and without leaves, though sometimes colored or supporting small leaves...
1–5 cm (0.393700787401575–2 in) in length and pedicels
Pedicel (botany)
A pedicel is a stem that attaches single flowers to the main stem of the inflorescence. It is the branches or stalks that hold each flower in an inflorescence that contains more than one flower....
2–8 mm (0.078740157480315–0.31496062992126 in) long. Sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s are 1.5–3.5 mm (0.0590551181102362–0.137795275590551 in) in length and white or green to pink or purplish. The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
is a glossy, bright red berry
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....
2.5–5 mm (0.0984251968503937–0.196850393700787 in) in diameter.
Habitat
R. humilis can be found in forestForest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
s, thicket
Thicket
A thicket is a very dense stand of trees or tall shrubs, often dominated by only one or a few species, to the exclusion of all others. They may be formed by species that shed large amounts of highly viable seeds that are able to germinate in the shelter of the maternal plants.In some conditions the...
s, shell middens, hammocks
Hammock (ecology)
Hammocks are dense stands of hardwood trees that grow on natural rises of only a few inches higher than surrounding marshland that is otherwise too wet to support them. Hammocks are distinctive in that they are formed gradually over thousands of years rising in a wet area through the deposits of...
, roadsides, and disturbed areas
Ruderal species
A ruderal species is a plant species that is first to colonize disturbed lands. The disturbance may be natural , or due to human influence – constructional , or agricultural .Ruderal species typically dominate the disturbed area...
at elevations from sea level to 1700 m (5,577.4 ft). It requires less than partial sun and is tolerant
Shade tolerance
In ecology, shade tolerance is a plant's abilities to tolerate low light levels. The term is also used in horticulture and landscaping, although in this context its use is sometimes sloppy, especially with respect to labeling of plants for sale in nurseries....
of full shade. It is also tolerant
Halophyte
A halophyte is a plant that grows where it is affected by salinity in the root area or by salt spray, such as in saline semi-deserts, mangrove swamps, marshes and sloughs, and seashores. An example of a halophyte is the salt marsh grass Spartina alterniflora . Relatively few plant species are...
of salt spray and saline soil
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
s.
Uses
Pigeonberry is cultivated as an ornamentalOrnamental 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...
in warm regions throughout the world and is valued as a shade-tolerant
Shade tolerance
In ecology, shade tolerance is a plant's abilities to tolerate low light levels. The term is also used in horticulture and landscaping, although in this context its use is sometimes sloppy, especially with respect to labeling of plants for sale in nurseries....
groundcover
Groundcover
Groundcover refers to any plant that grows over an area of ground, used to provide protection from erosion and drought, and to improve its aesthetic appearance .- Ecosystem :...
. It is also grown as a houseplant
Houseplant
A houseplant is a plant that is grown indoors in places such as residences and offices. Houseplants are commonly grown for decorative purposes, positive psychological effects, or health reasons such as indoor air purification...
and in greenhouse
Greenhouse
A greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...
s. Juice
Juice
Juice is the liquid that is naturally contained in fruit or vegetable tissue.Juice is prepared by mechanically squeezing or macerating fruit or vegetable flesh without the application of heat or solvents. For example, orange juice is the liquid extract of the fruit of the orange tree...
made from the 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....
was used as a dye
Dye
A dye is a colored substance that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is being applied. The dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution, and requires a mordant to improve the fastness of the dye on the fiber....
and ink
Ink
Ink is a liquid or paste that contains pigments and/or dyes and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing and/or writing with a pen, brush, or quill...
at one time. The berries contain a pigment
Pigment
A pigment is a material that changes the color of reflected or transmitted light as the result of wavelength-selective absorption. This physical process differs from fluorescence, phosphorescence, and other forms of luminescence, in which a material emits light.Many materials selectively absorb...
known as Rivianin or Rivinianin, which has the IUPAC name
IUPAC nomenclature
A chemical nomenclature is a set of rules to generate systematic names for chemical compounds. The nomenclature used most frequently worldwide is the one created and developed by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry ....
5-O-β-D-Glucopyranoside, 3-sulfate, CAS number
CAS registry number
CAS Registry Numbersare unique numerical identifiers assigned by the "Chemical Abstracts Service" toevery chemical described in the...
58115-21-2, and molecular formula
Chemical formula
A chemical formula or molecular formula is a way of expressing information about the atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound....
C24H26N2O16S. It is very similar to betanin
Betanin
Betanin, or Beetroot Red, is a red glycosidic food dye obtained from beets; its aglycone, obtained by hydrolyzing away the glucose molecule, is betanidin. As a food additive, its E number is E162. Betanin degrades when subjected to light, heat, and oxygen; therefore, it is used in frozen products,...
, the pigment found in beet
Beet
The beet is a plant in the Chenopodiaceae family which is now included in Amaranthaceae family. It is best known in its numerous cultivated varieties, the most well known of which is the purple root vegetable known as the beetroot or garden beet...
s.
Ecology
R. humilis is a host plant for the caterpillarCaterpillar
Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...
s of Goodson's Greenstreak (Cyanophrys goodsoni)