
Boraginaceae FAMILY
Varronia curassavica
Varronia curassavica
Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
3/5
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
HabitShrub
Growth—
The plant has escaped from cultivation in a number of areas, where it has become a nuisance. The seeds are dispersed widely by birds. The seedlings germinate in well-lit disturbed areas and grow quickly, forming dense thickets that can prevent regeneration or crowd out other vegetation[1]. The leaves are strongly scented[2].
Propagation
Seed - Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Varronia+curassavica>
Pollinators
Data unavailable
References
- [1]Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk — http://www.hear.org/pier/scientificnames/index.html ↩︎A very good website detailing weed species that have been introduced into the Pacific Islands.
- [2]Non-timber forest products of the North-West District of Guyana — van Andel T.R. · Tropenbos-Guyana Programme; Georgetown, Guyana · 2000 · ISBN 90-393-2536-7 ↩︎A very detailed study of the peoples and the plants they use, it includes a field guide to almost 500 species of useful plants.
- [3]Flora of Guatemala — Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark · 1946 - 1976 · http://www.archive.org/ ↩︎A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/
- [4]Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants — http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 ↩︎Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
- [5]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
- [6]Fruits of the Guianan Flora — van Roosmalen. M.G.M. · Institute of Systematic Boyany, Utrecht University; Netherlands. · 1985 · ISBN 90-9000988-4 ↩︎Terse descriptions of over 1,700 species from the Guianas that bear fruits - not necessarily edible! Often mentions if the fruit is edible, plus gives brief description of habit and habitat.
- [7]Raintree Nutrition - Tropical Plant Database — http://www.rain-tree.com/plants.htm ↩︎Detailed information on the medicinal uses of more than two hundred rainforest plants, mainly from S. America, with basic descriptions of the plants, their other uses etc.
- [8]Medicinal Plants of the Guianas — DeFilipps, R. A.; Maina, S. L.; & Crepin, J. · Smithsonian Museum · http://botany.si.edu/bdg/medicinal/index.html ↩︎A down-loadable PDF document of a book in pre-publication awaiting illustration. An excellent, if rather terse, guide to the traditional medicinal uses of the plants of the region
- [9]Traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology of the medicinal species of the genus Cordia (Boraginaceae) — Oza M.J. & Kulkarni Y.A. · 2017 · http://10.1111/jphp.12715 ↩︎
- [10]Medicinal Plants of Brazil — Mors W.B.; Rizzini C.T.; Pereira N.A. · Reference Publications; Michigan. · 2000 · ISBN 0-917256-42-5 ↩︎An extremely concise book, listing approximately 1,500 species and varieties of plants with their botanical name, common name in Brazil, regions in Brazil where the plant is found, a brief list of uses and any medically active compounds in the plant.
- [11]CosIng — http://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/ ↩︎CosIng is the European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients.
- [12]Useful Fiber Plants of the World — Dodge C.R. · USDA; Washington. · 1897 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ ↩︎A rather dated, but very comprehensive catalogue of fibre plants from around the world. The book can be downloaded from the Internet.