Rivina humilis (Bloodberry)

Shade-loving and long-lived, Rivina humilis (Bloodberry) is an evergreen, herbaceous to woody perennial to small shrub noted for its decorative fruit and flowers. Blooming nearly all year-round, tiny delicate blossoms, white to pink, are borne in terminal or axillary clusters. They are visited by pollinators and give way to clusters of bright red berries, almost translucent, that are devoured by many kinds of birds. Bloodberry can be quite eye-catching with its pale flowers and scarlet berries displayed simultaneously. The erect stems are clothed with long-petioled, elliptic to ovate leaves, up to 5 in. long (12 cm). Native to the moist tropical and sub-tropical Americas, Bloodberry can be found in forests, thickets, on roadsides, and in disturbed areas. It grows beneath trees and shrubs, in low-light areas where grass often refuses to grow. Hardy, drought-tolerant, low-maintenance, attractive to birds and bees, and providing year-round interest, Bloodberry is suitable for foundation plantings, or as a small specimen plant. Fast-growing, it is also valued as a shade-tolerant groundcover. It is also grown as a houseplant and in greenhouses. The red fruits have been used for cosmetics, hence the name Rouge Plant.

• Grows up to 3-5 ft. tall (90-150 cm) and 1-3 ft. wide (30-90 cm). Will self-seed.
• Easily grown in moist, well-drained, sand, loam, clay, or calcareous soils in part shade to full shade. Without supplemental water in summer, the plant may go dormant.
• No serious pest or disease issues.
• Cut back in late winter if the plant gets too leggy.
• Propagation by seed and cuttings. Seeds germinate well and grow slowly.
• Fruit and leaves are toxic if ingested.
• Native to the Americas, from Argentina to the southern USA. It has been widely introduced to other countries and has become naturalized in much of the Pacific and a few countries in Africa and Asia. Bloodberry has become invasive in many areas, especially in the Pacific.