Coriaria myrtifolia

Description

Coriaria myrtifolia, called in English redoul, is a shrub to 2–3 m 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. Coriaria myrtifolia should be recognized as one of the most neurotoxic plants in the western Mediterranean area. The Spanish name emborrachacabras (i.e. makes goats drunk) refers to the leaves' intoxicating effect on goats that eat them. The French name is Corroyère à feuilles de myrte. The Occitan name (rodor) and Catalan name (roldor) derive from Latin Rhus tyrius (Rhus coriaria), referring to the leaves' use in the traditional tannery industry. In Morocco, it's called arwaz in Berber as well as the spoken Moroccan Arabic. The root nodules of this plant carry out symbiotic nitrogen fixation,Coriaria myrtifolia is one of the 13 Coriaria species known to bear actinorhizae. The redoul is a shrub with branches greyish square section. The leaves are sessile, mostly opposite but sometimes in groups of three or more, oblong, acuminate, with three ribs. The small greenish flowers, which appear from April to June in racemes, have five reddish highlights styles, five sepals and five petals, with ten stamens. The black fruits are formed of five fleshy carpels, each containing one seed.