Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

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Phytolacca octandra L.

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).

Taxonomy

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

Distribution

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).

References

  • Wiggins, I.L. Porter, D.M. (1971) Flora of the Galapagos Islands Standford University Press, Stanford.
  • Van der Werff, H.H. (s.a.) Pers. obs. and colls. Personal observations and collections.
  • Tropicos.org. (2017) Database of Missouri Botanical Garden. Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 06 Oct 2017 <http://www.tropicos.org
  • Hokche, O. Berry, P.E. & Huber, O. (2008) Nuev. Cat. Fl. Vas. Venezuela 1–860.
  • 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).
  • Eliasson, U.H. (1993) 35A. Phytolaccaceae. Flora del Ecuador 46: 1–43.
  • 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).
  • Stewart, A. (1911) A botanical survey of the Galápagos Islands. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 4th Series, 1: 7-288.
  • Christophersen, E. (1932) A Collection of Plants from the Galápagos Islands. Nyt Mag. Naturvidenskaberne 70: 67-95.
  • Svenson, H.K. (1935) Plants of the Astor Expedition, 1930 (Galapagos and Cocos Islands). Am. J. Bot. 22: 208-277.
  • Eliasson, U. (1966) Studies in Galápagos Plants. III. Centrospermae. Svensk Botanisk Tidskrift 60: 393-439.
  • 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.
  • GBIF Secretariat (2021) GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei Accessed via https://www.gbif.org/species/5284517
  • 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/

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 21 June 2025.