Carissa spinarum

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

"Currant bush" redirects here. Not to be confused with
Bush currant
(Miconia calvescens).

Carissa spinarum

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Genus: Carissa
Species:
C. spinarum
Binomial name
Carissa spinarum
Synonyms

Numerous, see text

Carissa spinarum, the conkerberry or bush plum, is a large

synonyms
(see below).

Foliage of the small-leaved "ovata" type

It grows as a multi-stemmed shrub, 0.5 to 3 metres in height. The leaves are glossy green, opposite, narrow ovate to lanceolate and 1–5 cm in length. The branches bear thorns of 1–3 cm length. White, star-shaped flowers ~1 cm across are followed by ovate green berries, 1–2 cm in length, which turn black or dark purple when ripe.

Ecology

Ripe fruit
Unripe fruit

Carissa spinarum is most often found in

brigalow (A. harpophylla), in coastal rainforest, gallery forest and vine thickets in regions receiving in excess of 900 mm annual rainfall, as well as softwood scrubs and open eucalypt
savannas receiving less than 700 mm annual rainfall.

Conkerberries are edible, but only when fully ripe; they have a sweet flavour, but the milky sap of this plant – and its unripe fruit – is poisonous, as typical for the Apocynaceae. They are a popular

hawkmoths
)

Carissa spinarum is frequently a weed in grazing land in northern Australia, choking out grasses, reducing the ability of livestock to feed, interfering with stock handling and providing a refuge for vermin. The plant is capable of reproducing rapidly by

herbicides
. On the other hand, it has been used in attempts to restore small-bird habitat in disturbed dry rainforest in Queensland, Australia.

Parts of the plant are used

medicinally for joint and muscle pain by the Maasai people of Kenya.[3]

Fruit extracts from the plant have shown

antidiabetic properties.[4][5]

Synonyms

Well known for its fruit to locals and quite variable across its wide range and diverse habitat types, the conkerberry has been described time and again by

Karonda
(C. carandas). The 1889 book 'The Useful Native Plants of Australia records the plant under the name Carissa Ovata and says "This little bush produces a very pleasant fruit, which is both agreeable and wholesome. It is like a sloe, egg-shaped, and about half-an-inch long. It exudes a viscid milky juice and contains a few woody seeds. "I can testify that the fruit is both agreeable and wholesome, and I never knew an instance of any evil consequences, even when they were partaken of most abundantly." (Tenison-Woods, Vol. vii., 571., Proc. Lirin. Soc. N.S.W.)".[6]

But in fact, C. spinarum was already named by

junior synonyms. In Myanmar, it is known as Burmese: ခံစပ်; MLCTS: hkang sap.[7]

The following list gives the names under which the conkerberry has been placed in Carissa. Apart from that, it has also been assigned, under various names, to Antura and Arduina (both now synonymized with Carissa), as well as

Cabucala, Chapelieria, Damnacanthus, Strychnos, Carandas, and Jasminonerium.[8]

"Edulis"-type habitus
"Ovata"-type habitus
  • Carissa abyssinica R.Br.
  • Carissa africana A.DC.
  • Carissa axillaris Roxb.
  • Carissa brownii F.Muell.
  • Carissa campenonii (Drake) Palacky
  • Carissa candolleana Jaub. & Spach
  • Carissa carandas var. congesta (Wight) Bedd.
  • Carissa carandas var. paucinervia (A.DC.) Bedd.
  • Carissa cochinchinensis Pierre ex Pit.
  • Carissa comorensis (Pichon) Markgr.
  • Carissa congesta Wight
  • Carissa coriacea Wall.
  • Carissa cornifolia Jaub. & Spach
  • Carissa dalzellii Bedd.
  • Carissa densiflora Baker
  • Carissa diffusa Roxb.
  • Carissa dulcis Schumach. & Thonn.
  • Carissa edulis (Forssk.) Vahl
C. edulis var. septentrionalis is probably a valid species, Carissa septentrionalis
  • Carissa hirsuta Roth
  • Carissa horrida Pichon
  • Carissa inermis Vahl
  • Carissa lanceolata R.Br.
  • Carissa laxiflora Benth.
  • Carissa macrophylla Wall.
  • Carissa madagascariensis Thouars ex Poir.
  • Carissa obovata Markgr.
  • Carissa oleoides Markgr.
  • Carissa ovata R.Br.
  • Carissa paucinervia A.DC.
  • Carissa pilosa Schinz
  • Carissa pubescens A.DC.
  • Carissa revoluta Scott-Elliot
  • Carissa richardiana Jaub. & Spach
  • Carissa scabra R.Br.
  • Carissa sechellensis Baker
  • Carissa suavissima Bedd. ex Hook.f.
  • Carissa tomentosa A.Rich.
  • Carissa villosa Roxb.
  • Carissa xylopicron Thouars
  • Carissa yunnanensis Tsiang & P.T.Li

Footnotes

  1. ^ Plummer, J. (2020). "Carissa spinarum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T68112038A68112072. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  2. ^ "World Checklist of Selected Plant Families: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew". apps.kew.org. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  3. ^ Bussmann, R. W., et al. (2006). Plant use of the Maasai of Sekenani Valley, Maasai Mara, Kenya. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed 2 22.
  4. ^ Shri, K.S.; Sharma, Y.P.; Pankaj, S.; Pratima, V.; Randhawa, S.S. (2018). "Wild edible fruits of Himachal Pradesh state centre on climate change & UNEP-GEF-MoEFCC project report" (PDF).
  5. PMID 24093795
    .
  6. ^ J. H. Maiden (1889). The useful native plants of Australia : Including Tasmania. Turner and Henderson, Sydney.
  7. ^ "Plants of Myanmar Checklist". botany.si.edu. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  8. ^ Tropicos.org [2009]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Carissa spinarum.
  • Tropicos.org [2009]: Synonyms of Carissa spinarum L.. Retrieved 2009-NOV-26.

External links

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