About Bocconia frutescens L.
This relative of the poppy is a shrub that can grow up to 6 metres tall. It produces a bitter yellow or orange latex sap. Its leaves can reach up to 45 cm long and 20 cm wide, with leaf blades divided into deep lobes. Many leaves grow toward the ends of the branches. The inflorescence is a branching panicle that can be up to 60 centimeters long. The purple-green flower has no petals, but it does have sepals, each up to a centimetre long. Anthers dangle from the center of the flower attached to their filaments. The fruit is a capsule roughly 1.2 cm long, which holds yellowish pulp and a single black seed that is half-covered by a bright red aril. This plant can grow successfully in many different habitat types. Within its native range, it grows in dry, moist, and wet forests across many different soil types. It has been recorded growing in cloud forests and several types of disturbed and degraded habitat, though it cannot tolerate dense shade. The plant's seeds are usually dispersed by birds, which are attracted to its pulpy fruits. In Hawaii, the Japanese white-eye (Zosterops japonicus) is a common visitor to the plant. It is also an important plant for various birds within its native range.
