Breynia disticha J.R.Forst. & G.Forst. is a plant in the Phyllanthaceae family, order Malpighiales, kingdom Plantae. Not known to be toxic.

Photo of Breynia disticha J.R.Forst. & G.Forst. (Breynia disticha J.R.Forst. & G.Forst.)
🌿 Plantae

Breynia disticha J.R.Forst. & G.Forst.

Breynia disticha J.R.Forst. & G.Forst.

Breynia disticha (snowbush) is a Phyllanthaceae plant native to the western Pacific, with presumed toxic fruit and leafflower moth pollination.

Genus
Breynia
Order
Malpighiales
Class
Magnoliopsida

About Breynia disticha J.R.Forst. & G.Forst.

Breynia disticha, commonly called snowbush, is a species of plant belonging to the family Phyllanthaceae. It was first formally described in 1776. This plant is native to New Caledonia and Vanuatu in the western Pacific, but it has become naturalized across many other islands worldwide, including the West Indies, São Tomé, Seychelles, Chagos Islands, Bonin Islands, Norfolk Island, Fiji, Line Islands, Society Islands, and Hawaii, as well as in the U.S. state of Florida. Like other species in the genus Breynia, Breynia disticha is thought to be pollinated by leafflower moths of the genus Epicephala in its native range. Leafflower moths have been successfully reared from the fruit of this species collected in New Caledonia. The fruit of Breynia plants are generally presumed to be toxic, and are known to cause liver injury.

Photo: (c) EcoProf, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by EcoProf · cc-by-nc

Taxonomy

Plantae Tracheophyta Magnoliopsida Malpighiales Phyllanthaceae Breynia

More from Phyllanthaceae

Sources: GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia, NCBI Taxonomy · Disclaimer

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