Malpighiaceae FAMILY

Malpighia fucata

Edibility

2/5

Medicinal

0/5

Safety & Hazards

The leaves are poisonous and can irritate the skin[ 1438 Title Food Plants in the Americas: A Survey of the Domesticated, Cultivated, and Wild Plants Used for Human Food in North, Publication Author Kermath B.M.; Bennett B.C.' Pulsipher L.M. Publisher Year 2014 ISBN Description A pre-publication draft of an amazing, on-going work first started in 1985. It contains information on more than 3,900 taxa from the Americas - from Arctic regions to the Tropics ]. The plant has stinging needle-like hairs that lay flat on the lower leaf surfaces[ 448 Title Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Second Volume. Publication Author Little E.L.; Woodbury R.O.;Wadsworth F.H. Publisher USDA, Forest Service; Washington. Year 1974 ISBN Description Contains detailed information, and usually an illustration, on 500 tree species, including both native and exotic species. ].

Botanical Description

Malpighia fucata is an evergreen shrub or a small tree that can grow around 2 - 6 metres tall with a main stem up to 8cm in diameter[ 426 Title Flowering Plants of Jamaica Publication Author Adams. C.D. Publisher University of the West Indies; Jamaica. Year 1972 ISBN Description A terse treatment of the flowering plants of Jamaica, with a botanical description of each plant, notes on habitat etc. , 448 Title Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Second Volume. Publication Author Little E.L.; Woodbury R.O.;Wadsworth F.H. Publisher USDA, Forest Service; Washington. Year 1974 ISBN Description Contains detailed information, and usually an illustration, on 500 tree species, including both native and exotic species. ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food.

Habitat & Origin

Origintropical

Native RangeCaribbean - Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Leeward Islands

HabitatMoist coastal forests; at elevations up to 540 metres[ 448 Title Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Second Volume. Publication Author Little E.L.; Woodbury R.O.;Wadsworth F.H. Publisher USDA, Forest Service; Washington. Year 1974 ISBN Description Contains detailed information, and usually an illustration, on 500 tree species, including both native and exotic species. ]. Woodland, on limestone soils; at elevations from 450 - 900 metres[ 426 Title Flowering Plants of Jamaica Publication Author Adams. C.D. Publisher University of the West Indies; Jamaica. Year 1972 ISBN Description A terse treatment of the flowering plants of Jamaica, with a botanical description of each plant, notes on habitat etc. ].