Common Name:

General Information

Miconia albicans is a stiff, erect shrub usually growing less than 1 metre tall, but with occasional specimens up to 3 metres[, ].
The plant is often harvested from the wild for local use, especially for its fruit, but also as a medicine and source of wood. It is occasionally cultivated for its fruit[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

S. America - Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Venezuela, Guyana; C. America - Panama to Mexico; Caribbean - Cuba, Jamaica, Trinidad.

Habitat

Mostly in dry or moist, open, pine forest, at elevations up to 800 metres[]. Heavy clay soils in pastures and thickets and on scrubby hillsides; at elevations from 150 - 1,200 metres in Jamaica[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Shrub
Height	1.00 m
Pollinators	Insects
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

Plants can flower and fruit sporadically throughout the year[].

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw[, , ]. The pulp is juicy. At maturity the fruit is usually black or bluish black, somewhat resembling a blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) in both appearance and flavour, although much inferior in size and taste[].

Medicinal

An infusion of the leaves is eupeptic[].

Other Uses

The wood obtained from the various species in this genus is usually dull brownish, sometimes with a tinge of red, hard and heavy to moderately so, of fine or medium texture, mostly straight-grained, easy to work, not durable in contact with the soil. Because of its small size, however, it is not used unless for firewood or poles[].

Propagation

Seed -

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