Inkberry

Randia aculeata, commonly known as inkberry or white indigoberry, is a thorny evergreen shrub or small tree in the Rubiaceae family native to the Caribbean, Florida, Mexico, and tropical Central and South America. The plant typically grows two to four metres tall with a much-branched, irregular crown and grey, smooth bark. Slender opposite branchlets bear stout paired spines at the nodes and clusters of small, obovate, leathery leaves with prominent venation. Fragrant white tubular flowers about one centimetre across appear singly or in small clusters; petals are five-lobed and reflexed. The fruits are spherical greenish-white berries about a centimetre across containing a watery juice that turns deep blue or black when exposed to air, hence the common name. The plant favours dry coastal hammocks, scrub, and limestone soils.