Scientific Name
Other Names
Life Form
Family
Food - Fruit is eaten raw as famine food or used as a beverage. Medicine - The juice of the bark is used in the treatment of stomach aches
Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan
Thrives in well-drained slopes in open forests or disturbed areas.
It is large hairless shrub reaching 300-400 cm in height with arching reddish-brown branches.
Stem is reddish-brown, sturdy, and usually less than 5 cm in diameter.
Leaves are elliptic and pointed, with margins that lack stalks. They measure 5-8 cm long and 2-4 cm wide, with prominent 3-veins.
Flowers are reddish-purple, clustered in leaf axils. Individual flowers are small with 5 greenish petals that enlarge and become fleshy. Prominent stamens and style protrude, giving the flower its color, measures about 1 cm across.
Fruit is black, fleshy drupe with carpels encircled by larger, persistent purple sepals. Fruit is roughly 1 cm in diameter.
Flowering: February-April.