Summary ²

Gouania lupuloides, known as chewstick, is a plant of the family Rhamnaceae. The name in Jamaica for a vine with a woody stem which grows in hedgerows in the hills. In Jamaican patois a vine is called a wis (wythie). To clean one's teeth with this plant one cuts off a portion of the vine, peels off the bark and chews the tip. The tip becomes fibrous and frothy. Chewstick tastes slightly bitter but not unpleasant....

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Reinaldo Aguilar, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/plantaspinunsulaosa/8521516921/
2. (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gouania_lupuloides

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• eFloras.org
• Flora of North America (beta)
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos
• USDA PLANTS database
• World Flora Online

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