Rauvolfia viridis Willd. ex Roem. & Schult.
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Authority
Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro & collaborators. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78: 1-581.
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Family
Apocynaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Species Description - Shrub 1-2 m tall. Leaves whorled (3 or 4 per node); blades 4-15 x 2-5 cm, elliptic, chartaceous, upper surface dull, secondary veins 10-12 on each side, ascending, long-pointed at both ends, the base usually oblique, the margins entire or wavy and revolute; petioles 0.3-0.5 cm long. Calyx cup-shaped, ca. 1.5 mm long, the sepals ca. 0.5 mm long, rounded; corolla cream or white, the tube 2-3.5 mm long, pubescent within, the lobes 1.5- 2 mm long, rounded, spreading. Fruit 5-7 mm broad, purple, shiny, smooth, with 2 fused drupes or one of them partially developed.
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Discussion
Common names: bitter bush, man better man.
Cultivated species: The small tree Thevetia peruviana (Pers.) Schum. with yellow flowers, locally known as lucky-nut, is found only in a few gardens.
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Distribution
Common in dry coastal thickets or hillsides. Bethany (B193), Hurricane Hole (A2771). Also on St. Croix, St. Thomas, Tortola, and Virgin Gorda; Puerto Rico, Lesser Antilles, and northern South America.
South America| West Indies| Puerto Rico South America| Virgin Gorda Virgin Islands South America| Tortola Virgin Islands South America| Saint Thomas Virgin Islands of the United States South America| Saint Croix Virgin Islands of the United States South America|