Family Rubiaceae

Odd, spinescent, deciduous shrub growing up to 18 feet but much smaller in our region (usually about 6’). Their flowers are light yellow-orange or offwhite and typically unisex as the papachi is normally dioecious (i.e., a plant will either have all female or all male flowers). However, it can occasionally be polygamodioecious if the plant has flowers that are hermaphroditic (with both male and female parts). Bizarre spikey fruits follow the flowers and turn from green to brown. Inside the fruits is a black pulp with flat seeds.

Full sun to shade, moderate water, hardy to about 25°F, can take even colder temperatures if regrowth is allowed. Plants are evergreen in frost-free areas, deciduous in colder weather.

The flowers are nectar rich, probably moth pollinated. Many species in the Rubiaceae are used as butterfly and moth larval hosts.

Tea made from the leaf and fruit is drunk to treat malaria, diabetes, cancer, gastrointestinal and urinary tract infections, and lung and kidney ailments. Many people through time have enjoyed the flavor and eaten papachis for pleasure, while others have experienced its hallucinogenic properties by preparing a blue concoction using the pulp. The chopped, ground and boiled bark is used as a catalyst in the preparation of 'tesguino'.

THere are about 116 species of Randia in Tropics of the world. The genus is named for Isaac Rand (1674–1743) was an English botanist and apothecary, who was a lecturer and director at the Chelsea Physic Garden. The species, echinocarpa, means spikey fruit.

Dry thickets and hillsides in the Sierra Madre Occidental, from Sonora south to Oaxaca.

Photo by Laüra on iNaturalist