Vaccinium rapae
Skottsb.
(c) Kenneth R. Wood (NTBG), some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Kenneth R. Wood (NTBG)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Fruit
The fruit is eaten.
Dangerous Lookalikes
This plant can be confused with the following toxic species. Always verify identification carefully before consuming any wild plant.
Deadly Nightshade: Tall herbaceous plant (1-2m), single shiny black cherry-sized berries, star-shaped calyx, large oval leaves, sweet but dangerous taste.
Vaccinium rapae: Low woody shrub, berries in clusters with crown/remnant calyx ring, sweet taste.
Where to Find It
It is a tropical plant. It grows on Rapa Island in the Pacific. It is recorded between 75-500 m above sea level. It grows in damp locations.
French Polynesia, Pacific, Rapa,
How to Identify
A shrub. It grows 40 cm tall. The young branches have small hairs. The leaves have short stalks 1-2 mm long. The leaves are 20-40 mm long by 14-34 mm wide. They are greyish green above and green underneath. There are teeth along the edge. The flowers occur singly in the axils of leaves. The flowers are greenish white. The fruit are dark red to purple. They are 7 mm across.
Notes
It is an unresolved name in The Plant List.
References (2)
- Reis, S. V. and Lipp, F. L., 1982, New Plant Sources for Drugs and Foods from the New York Botanical Garden herbarium. Harvard. p 230
- Skottsberg, C. 1938, Ericaceae and Santalaceae of Southeastern Polynesia. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 14(4) p31
