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Family:

Ericaceae (Magnoliophyta)

Primary Citation:

Prodr. (DC.) 7: 609. 1839

Accepted Name:

This name is currently accepted.

Common Names:

albricia negra, ashco-guañuna, bichacha, borracherito, borrachero, borrachero de perro, cacalote, capulín, chivacoa, chivacú, colorado, dormidera, fruta de perro, fuchsia, gamambouya, guangachi, macha marca, moridera, mortillo, ojo de buey

Description:

Description: Prostrate and stoloniferous, to erect or ascending shrub, sometimes forming dense tufts or extensive mats, (0.1-)0.2-1(-3) m tall, bisexual; stems terete to subterete (sharply angled), glabrous or weakly to densely puberulous or laxly crisped pilose, and also usually moderately to densely strigose or hirsute-setose with basally swollen ferruginous, appressed or spreading eglandular and/or rarely bgland-tipped hairs 0.5-3 mm long. Leaves subcoriaceous to coriaceous, narrowly to broadly elliptic, oblong, or ovate-oblong to linear-oblong, (2-)6-14(-40) x (2-)4-7(-12) mm, base rounded, obtuse, attenuate or cuneate, apex obtuse, acute or subacuminate, rarely short-mucronate or rounded, margin slightly to conspicuously thickened, usually slightly revolute, minutely renate-serrulate with 6-12(-17) caducous teeth per side, these bristle-tipped or gland-tipped and 0.2-0.3 mm long, to hirsute-setose and eglandular to 2 mm long, blades themselves usually glabrous or rarely weakly short-pilose along the basal half of midrib above, rarely strigose beneath; midrib and secondary veins slightly impressed or raised above, raised and ± prominent beneath; petiole 1-4 mm long, often canaliculate above, glabrous to puberulous above. Flowers with pedicels (1-)4-10(-13) mm long, glabrous or puberulous (bearing short-strigose or hirsute-setose, straight or crisped, eglandular or gland-tipped hairs); bracts 5-10 ovate, ciliate, appressed, persistent, at the base and 1-6 cattered along pedicel, these (1.5-)2-4 mm long; calyx lobes membranaceous or rarely becoming fleshy after anthesis, ovate, 2-4 mm long, acuminate to acute, weakly to densely ciliate (also basally with short, gland-tipped hairs); corolla cylindric to campanulate-urceolate, (3.5-)5-6(-7) mm long, white to rose tinted when fresh, lobes 1-1.5 mm long, reflexed; stamens with filaments 1.5-3 mm long, glabrous (pilose); ovary glabrous to densely short-pubescent, style 2-4 mm long, glabrous (short-pilose in lower half). Berry subglobose, 6-16 mm diam., glabrous to densely short-pubescent, dark blue-black, rarely light purple to almost white. Chromosome number: n=11 (Luteyn et al. 7966).

Distribution: Widespread from central Mexico south through Central America and the Andes to extreme NW Argentina. Found in pine-fir forest undergrowth with Arbutus, Gaultheria, and Comarostaphylis (Mexico-Guatemala), grasslands or scrub vegetation, cloud forest, subpáramo to páramo, from montane to the alpine zone, scattered or sometimes dominant and covering square kilometers on exposed slopes or in the Guatemalan highlands sometimes covering thousands of acres fide Flora of Guatemala, often on coarse rocky soil among shrubs, or over exposed banks and boulders, occasionally in wet meadows, frequently a pioneer species in new habitats created by road building, landslides or volcanic activity, at elevations of (900-)2000-3900(-4630) m. Flowering and fruiting throughout the year.

Type: Ecuador. Tungurahua: Volcán Tungurahua, fl, Nee s.n. (holotype, MA, photo F neg. 29346).

Common names: Mexico: arrayán, lumal ajate'es (Chiapas); capulincillo, tlal capuline (Mexico); gamambouya, garambullo (Veracruz). Guatemala: cacalote (San Marcos). Colombia: colorado (Cauca); chirriadera, cimarrón, gateadero, mortiño, reventadera (Cundinamarca); moridera (Nariño); bichacha (Santander). Venezuela: albricia negra, albricias, borracherito, borrachero, borrachero de perro, chivacú, fruta de perro, laurelito, sarna de perro (Mérida); borracherito, chivacoa, fruta de perro (Trujillo). Ecuador: perro guanuna, tirac (Azuay); moridera, mortillo (Carchí); mortiño (Imbabura); mortillo (Loja); Shanshi (?); Taglli (Pichincha). Peru: macha macha (Cuzco, Huánuco). Bolivia: macha marca (Island of Titicaca); macha macha (Cochabamba).

Uses: The berries are used in Edo. Mexico (Mexico) for making black ink (Balls4187). On the Galápagos Islands Taylor G22 records the berry as "sweet and good." However, it is more frequent to hear the following: "said to poison mules" (Leavenworth 281, Michoacán, Mexico) or "sheep get drunk, often die, also people (children)" (Woythowski 5272, Peru). Reports vary in that some people eat the berries without ill effects (e.g., P. C. Standley, Flora of Guatemala; various others, pers. comm.) while others have been made ill (H. Pittier, Flora of Guatemala; various others, pers. comm.). Therefore, it is probably safest to avoid them.

Cultivated: E, K, NCSC, NY.

Flora and Monograph Treatment(s):

Pernettya prostrata (Cav.) DC.: [Article] Luteyn, James L., et al. 1995. Ericaceae, Part II. The Superior-Ovaried Genera (Monotropoideae, Pyroloideae, Rhododendroideae, and Vaccinioideae P.P.). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 66: 560.