Nyctaginaceae Pisonia aculeata L.

| |	© W.D. Hawthorne

Other images of the same specimen :

| 1 | 2 | 3 |

Places where this species can be found :

• Morne Gazo - GRENADA
• Levera National Park - GRENADA

Species information

Description
Climber or Medium to large low-branched tree. Leaves opposite, alternate or often v. clustered; Young parts hairy; stems with curved spines to 1 m; Blade 2-8 x 1.5-5.5cm, deciduous; Laterals prominent Fruits with 5 rows of glands.

Interest
W. Piso was a 17th Century Dutch physician. The fruits have many small hooks which can adhere to bird plumage and prevent them from flying, as in Pisonia excelsa (Malaysia), known as the bird catching tree (Dalziel, 1948)

Specimen information

Collection Date
16/06/2001

Collector
W.D. Hawthorne, S.Cable & D. Jules

Specimen Number
541

Location
Along road to mangroves about 1 km from park entrance.

Notes
Tree 5 m tall with compound spines 5-10 cm long. BARK: smooth, dark olive-grey. SLASH: thin, fibrous, soft, outer layer green, inner layer cream coloured. (RHS colour code: Leaf upper =137B, below=137D)

Coordinates
Latitude: 12.120000 N   Longitude: 61.360000 W   Altitude: 5