Breynia vitis-idaea

Breynia vitis-idaea

''Breynia vitis-idaea'', the officinal breynia, is a perennial tree-like species of Phyllanthaceae , found from India east to Taiwan and Okinawa and south to Indonesia. It is a shrub or treelet with egg-shaped leaves that can reach up to 3 m tall. It has staminate flowers and spherical, red fruit.

''Breynia vitis-idaea'' is pollinated by the leafflower moth ''Epicephala vitisidaea'' in Fujian, China and the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan. The moth actively pollinates the flowers, but lays an egg into the space between the external carpel wall and the tepals. The moth caterpillars consume a subset of the tree's seeds, receiving nourishment in return.

It contains the saponin breynin and terpenic and phenolic glycosides. It is marketed in Taiwan as Chi R Yun.
Breynia vitis-idaea  Australia,Breynia vitis-idaea,Geotagged,Summer

Naming

''Breynia officinalis'' Hemsley and ''B. officinalis'' var. ''accrescens'' M.J.Deng & J.C.Wang are synonyms of ''B. vitis-idaea''.

Other variants include:
⤷ ''Breynia formosana'' Hayata
⤷ ''Breynia officinalis'' Hemsley var. ''officinalis''
⤷ ''Breynia stipitata'' Muell. -Arg. var. ''formosana'' Hayata
⤷ ''Breynia stipitata'' Muell. -Arg. var. ''formosana'' Hayata

Other common names in English include:
⤷ Formosan breynia
⤷ Large calyx breynia
⤷ Medicinal breynia

Common names in other languages include:
⤷ 
⤷  ''Âng-sim-á'', ''Âng-chu-á'', ''Âng-á-chu''
⤷ 
⤷ 
⤷ 
⤷ 
⤷ 
⤷ 
⤷  , ดับพิษ , ก้างปลาทะเล , ผักหวานตัวผู้
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Defense

''Breynia vitis-idaea'' poisoning causes hepatocellular liver injury.

References:

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Status: Least concern
EX EW CR EN VU NT LC
Taxonomy
KingdomPlantae
DivisionAngiosperms
ClassEudicots
OrderMalpighiales
FamilyPhyllanthaceae
GenusBreynia
SpeciesB. vitis-idaea
Photographed in
Australia