Pigeonberry or rougeplant (Rivina humilis) is a species of shrub plant in Petiveriaceae, living in colonies on black soil under the shade of large trees, 0.4-2 m high, green perennial leaves for up to 15 cm long and 9 cm wide, leaf stalks have a length of 1-11 cm.
R. humilis has flowers in clumps with a length of 4-15 cm on the main stalk with a length of 1-5 cm (0.39-1.97 in) and strands with a length of 2-8 mm. Sepal is 1.5-3.5 mm long, white or green and will turn pink or purplish.
The berries are green and end up becoming shiny red when ripe, round in size from 2.5 to 5 mm and emit a red liquid if broken. More than 20 pieces appear in each panicle and are very noticeably filling the ground.
This plant grows in forests, stretched land, curbs or becomes ornamental plants at a maximum height of 1,700 m above sea level. This species does not need much sunlight and stands under the shade of large trees including in the golden bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris vittata) clump and is tolerant of salt soil.
Some reports say leaves, stems and roots have antibacterial, antioxidant, anticancer and antipesticide properties. The fruits used as pigment-containing coloring agents are rivianin or rivinianin, 5-O-β-D-Glucopyranoside, 3-sulfate, CAS number 58115-21-2, C24H26N2O16S and betaxanthin humilixanthin.
TAXON
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Petiveriaceae
Genus: Rivina Plum. ex L. in Sp. Pl.: 121 (1753)
Species: Rivina humilis L. in Sp. Pl.: 121 (1753)
HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS
Rivina laevis f. humilis (L.) Voss in Vilm. Blumengärtn., ed. 3. 1: 876 (1895)
Tithonia humilis (L.) Kuntze in Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 552 (1891)
HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS
Rivina acuminata Raf. in New Fl. 4: 13 (1838),
Rivina andamanensis L.J.Singh & M.C.Naik in J. Asia-Pacific Biodivers. 15: 145, Corrig. (2022)
Rivina aurantiaca Warsz. ex Schenk in Index Seminum (WB, Wirceburgensis) 1861: [4] (1862)
Rivina bengalensis S.C.Srivast. & T.K.Paul in Indian J. Forest. 26: 357 (2003)
Rivina brasiliensis Nocca in Ann. Bot. (Usteri) 6: 63 (1793)
Rivina brasiliensis var. viridis (F.W.Schmidt) Moq. in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 13(2): 12 (1849)
Rivina canescens D.Don ex Steud. in Nomencl. Bot., ed. 2. 2: 460 (1841)
Rivina glabrata Kunth in F.W.H.von Humboldt, A.J.A.Bonpland & C.S.Kunth, Nov. Gen. Sp. 2: 184 (1817)
Rivina gracilis Salisb. in Prodr. Stirp. Chap. Allerton: 67 (1796)
Rivina herbacea C.Huber in Nursery Cat. (Charles Huber Bros. and Co.) 1871-1872(Cat. Graines): 4 (1871)
Rivina humilis var. bracteata D.Maity, Sonia Mitra, Manasi Mandal & Maiti in Rheedea 24: 103 (2014)
Rivina humilis var. canescens L. in Sp. Pl.: 122 (1753)
Rivina humilis var. glabra L. (1753)
Rivina humilis var. laevis (L.) Millsp. in Publ. Field Columb. Mus., Bot. Ser. 2: 41 (1900)
Rivina humilis var. orientalis (Moq.) H.Walter in H.G.A.Engler (ed.), Pflanzenr., IV, 83: 105 (1909)
Rivina humilis var. plumbaginifolia Moq. (1849)
Rivina humilis var. puberula (Kunth) Moq. (1849)
Rivina laevis L. in Mant. Pl.: 41 (1767)
Rivina laevis f. brasiliensis (Nocca) Voss (1895)
Rivina laevis var. pubescens Griseb. in Fl. Brit. W. I.: 59 (1859)
Rivina laevis f. viridiflora (Bello) Voss (1895)
Rivina lanceolata Willd. in Enum. Pl. Hort. Berol., Suppl.: 8 (1814)
Rivina mexicana Moc. & Sessé ex Moq. (1849)
Rivina obliquata Raf. (1838)
Rivina orientalis Moq. (1849)
Rivina pallida Salisb. (1796)
Rivina paraguayensis D.Parodi in Anales Soc. Ci. Argent. 5: 206 (1878)
Rivina plumbaginifolia Willd. ex Moq. (1849)
Rivina portulaccoides Nutt. in Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., n.s., 5: 167 (1835)
Rivina procumbens Ruiz ex Moq. (1849)
Rivina puberula Kunth (1817)
Rivina purpurascens Schrad. in Gen. Pl. Illustr.: 17 (1797)
Rivina purpurascens var. mollis Moq. (1849)
Rivina tetrandra Desf. in Tabl. École Bot., ed. 2: 49 (1815)
Rivina tinctaria Buch.-Ham. ex G.Don in J.C.Loudon, Hort. Brit., ed. 2: 598 (1832)
Rivina vernalis Terán & Berland. in Mem. Comis. Limites: 1 (1832)
Rivina viridiflora Bello in Anales Soc. Esp. Hist. Nat. 12: 105 (1883)
Rivina viridis F.W.Schmidt in Samml. Phys.-Oekon. Aufsätze 1: 185 (1791)
Piercea acuminata Raf. (1838)
Piercea glabra Mill. in Gard. Dict., ed. 8.: n.° 1 (1768)
Piercea obliquata Raf. (1838)
Piercea tomentosa Mill. (1768)
Solanoides laevis (L.) Moench in Methodus: 307 (1794)
Solanoides pubescens Moench (1794)
Solanoides undulata Moench in Suppl. Meth.: 106 (1802)
PUBLICATIONS
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VERNACULAR NAME
Afrikaans: Bloedbessie
Arabic: نبات الحمر
Chinese (Simplified): 数珠珊瑚
Chinese (Traditional): 數珠珊瑚 - 珊瑚珠 - 蕾芬
Danish: Sminkebær
English: Baby Pepper, Bloodberry, Coral-Berry, Rouge Plant, Coral berry, Pigeon berry, Pigeonberry, Rougeplant
Finnish: Verimarja
French: Rivine humble
Hebrew: צמח רוז'
Hindi: रूज प्लांट
Hong Kong: 數珠珊瑚
Indonesian: Getih-Getihan, Teter abang
Japanese: ジュズサンゴ
Korean: 루즈 공장
Macao: 數珠珊瑚
Malayalam: Rakthanelli
Portuguese: Murta-velame, Baga-de-sangue
Russian: Ривина низкая
Slovak: Rivina nízka
Spanish: Sangre de toro, Bajatripa, Caimonicillo, Caimoní cimarrón, Coralito
Taiwan: 數珠珊瑚
Thai: พริกฝรั่ง
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