About Chiococca alba (L.) Hitchc.
West Indian milkberry, scientifically named Chiococca alba (L.) Hitchc., is an evergreen woody vine or scrambling shrub that often grows on other vegetation, and can reach a height of 6 m (20 ft). Its simple, opposite leaves are 5–11 cm (2.0–4.3 in) long, and range in shape from elliptic to ovate or broadly lanceolate. Yellow, bell-shaped flowers that grow up to 1 cm (0.39 in) long appear year-round, borne on racemes or panicles of six to eight flowers. The fruit is a white drupe 4–7 mm (0.16–0.28 in) in diameter, which typically contains two dark brown seeds.
Chiococca alba is sometimes grown as an ornamental plant, valued for its dark green evergreen foliage and white drupes. It is used for espalier and grown on trellises. Its roots have several applications in herbal medicine: they are used as a laxative, diuretic, emetic, and antidiarrhoeal. At one time, the plant was sold commercially in Europe and the United States for these medicinal uses.
