Baja California Stegnosperma
Stegnosperma halimifolium
Family: Stegnospermataceae
Strange evergreen shrub growing to about 6’ tall and about 8’ wide or even much larger in favorable conditions. Small white flowers from October to May, developing into red berries. Very rare in trade. This is a tropical version of pokeberry!
Full sun, moderate water with good drainage, hardy to about 25°F. Great screen.
Flowers visited by pollinators, berries eaten by birds. Great habitat plant.
The roots are used to make a soapy material. The plant is used in medicinal preparations. In traditional medicine, curanderas use an extract of the root as a part of the treatment for rabies due to its emetic properties. Jiménez-Estrada et al. list Stegnosperma extract for treatment of headache, snakebite, and rabies. They provide an analysis of the antioxidant and antiproliferative activity of S. halimifolium.
The generic name, Stegnosperma, comes from the Greek words “stegnos,” meaning “cover,” and “sperma,” meaning “seed.” The species, halimifolium, comes from the Greek words for "sea pod". There are 4 species native to the Caribbean, Central America, and Mexico particularly in the Sonoran Desert.
A plant mainly of lowland areas, usually near the coast, in the warm temperate zone to subtropics, also extending into the tropics. Mostly in Sonora and Baja California with a few scattered locations throughout Mexico.