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Coriaria myrtifolia
Also called Ink Plant, Redoul
Coriaria myrtifolia, called redoul, is a Mediterranean shrub of 2 to 3 metres with myrtle-like leaves and black fruits. It is grown mainly for ground cover and soil stabilisation, and all parts are highly poisonous.
Coriaria myrtifolia, called in English redoul, is a shrub that grows to 2–3 metres tall. Myrtifolia means myrtle-like leaves.
The fruit is a fleshy black berry achene slightly similar to a blackberry but toxic. Coriaria myrtifolia has the largest fruits in the genus Coriaria. It is especially dangerous for children, who may eat it if they confuse it with edible berries. It should be recognized as one of the most neurotoxic plants in the western Mediterranean area.
The leaves and fruits of Coriaria myrtifolia contain coriamyrtin, a typical convulsant substance one member of picrotoxane sesquiterpenes, was first isolated in 1864.
Toxic effects are characterized by digestive (nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain), neurological (obnubilation, convulsions and their complications), and respiratory disorders (polypnea, respiratory problems, apnea, short and superficial respiration) together with myositis of the pupils. Treatment of this poisoning is purely symptomatic. In the case of convulsions, rapid resuscitation in an intensive care unit is necessary. Coriamyrtin also has a pharmacological action.
Geographically, this species is confined to northern Mediterranean coastal Spain and Southern France (from the Gironde to the Alpes Maritimes), penetrating into Italy as far as part of the Apennines. The species reappears in the western Rif and Algeria, and in the Balearic Islands it appears only in Ibiza. The oldest known mention of this plant, dating from 932, is in a place name and implies its presence in the County of Manresa, north-west of Barcelona.
Traditionally, leaves of redoul were intensively collected for their tannin content, for tanning and dyeing purposes.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Coriaria myrtifolia by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
