Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Phytolacca octandra
jabón de monte, inkweed, dyeberry, eightstamen pokeweed
Perennial herb with pointed elliptical leaves and bisexual flowers. The fruit is dark purple to nearly black, and the seeds are black and shiny (Wiggins and Porter, 1971).
Habitat: grassland, riverbanks. Mesic Grassland, forest. Roadsides and disturbed sites (WFO, 2023).
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Plantae
Phylum
Magnoliophyta
Class
Magnoliopsida (= Dicotyledoneae)
Order
Caryophyllales
Family
Phytolaccaceae
Genus
Phytolacca
Species
octandra
Taxon category: Accepted
Syn.: Phytolacca decandra Descourt.; Phytolacca icosandra L. (GBIF, 2022), But according POWO (2022), P. octandra and P. icosandra are different species and both are accepted.;
Origin: Native
Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.
Distribution: Tropical American weed widely naturalized in the tropics (WFO, 2023).
- Christophersen, E. (1932) A Collection of Plants from the Galápagos Islands. Nyt Mag. Naturvidenskaberne 70: 67-95.
- Eliasson, U. (1966) Studies in Galápagos Plants. III. Centrospermae. Svensk Botanisk Tidskrift 60: 393-439.
- Eliasson, U.H. (1993) 35A. Phytolaccaceae. Flora del Ecuador 46: 1–43.
- GBIF Secretariat (2021) GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei Accessed via https://www.gbif.org/species/5284517
- Gibbs, G.E. Welman, W.G., Reitief, F., Immelman, K.L., Germishuizen, G., Pienaar, B.J. & Nicholas, A. (1987) List of species of southern African plants. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa 2(1–2): 1–152(pt. 1), 1–270(pt. 2).
- Hokche, O. Berry, P.E. & Huber, O. (2008) Nuev. Cat. Fl. Vas. Venezuela 1–860.
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Missouri Botanical Garden (eds.) (2013) The Plant List, Version 1.1. Published on the Internet; http://www.theplantlist.org/ (accessed 1st January).
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (2022) Plants of the world online POWO (2022): Plants of the world online. Published on the Internet; Https://powo.science.kew.org/
- Stewart, A. (1911) A botanical survey of the Galápagos Islands. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 4th Series, 1: 7-288.
- Svenson, H.K. (1935) Plants of the Astor Expedition, 1930 (Galapagos and Cocos Islands). Am. J. Bot. 22: 208-277.
- Tropicos.org. (2017) Database of Missouri Botanical Garden. Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 06 Oct 2017 <http://www.tropicos.org
- Van der Werff, H.H. (s.a.) Pers. obs. and colls. Personal observations and collections.
- WFO (2021) World Flora Online. Published on the Internet. http://www.worldfloraonline.org/ WFO (2021): World Flora Online. Published on the Internet; http://www.worldfloraonline.org.
- Wiggins, I.L. Porter, D.M. (1971) Flora of the Galapagos Islands Standford University Press, Stanford.
You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.
This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Phytolacca octandra", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=659. Accessed 22 May 2026.