Phyllanthus acidus
(L.) Skeels · speciesAt a glance
Sources13 archives
Databases and archives Phyllanthus acidus's data was compiled from.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation17 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility852 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI16 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics19 specimens↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinesequences↗
dukesphytochemcompounds
LOTUSNatural Products (Wikidata)compounds↗
NPASSNat. Product Activity & Species Sourcecompounds↗
GRIN TaxonomyUSDA-ARSdistribution & uses↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
CCDBChromosome Counts DB · Tel Aviv U.genome & karyotype↗
PloiDBPloidy Databasegenome & karyotypeEvery layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.
Phyllanthus acidus, known as the Otaheite gooseberry, Malay gooseberry, Tahitian gooseberry, country gooseberry, star gooseberry, starberry, arbari, West India gooseberry, or simply gooseberry tree, is one of the trees with edible small yellow berries fruit in the family Phyllanthaceae. Despite its name, the plant does not resemble the gooseberry, except for the acidity of its fruits. It tastes sour and tart.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
Size & morphology1
Life cycle & reproduction6
Diet & foraging1
Habitat & environment10
Physiology & chemistry3
Compounds documented for Phyllanthus acidus across natural-product and food-composition databases — not just the ~150 nutrients on a classic label ("nutritional dark matter").
Compound class profile3 classes
Documented compounds53 total
| Compound | Class | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| WATER | 914,000 ppm | DukesPhytochem | |
| CARBOHYDRATES | 832,000 ppm | DukesPhytochem | |
| FIBER | 244,000 ppm | DukesPhytochem | |
| FAT | 209,000 ppm | DukesPhytochem | |
| PROTEIN | 116,000 ppm | DukesPhytochem | |
| ASH | 70,000 ppm | DukesPhytochem | |
| POTASSIUM | 15,895 ppm | DukesPhytochem | |
| KILOCALORIES | 4,300 ppm | DukesPhytochem | |
| PHOSPHORUS | 2,442 ppm | DukesPhytochem | |
| CALCIUM | 2,326 ppm | DukesPhytochem |
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Phyllanthus acidus has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
The complete instruction manual Phyllanthus acidus carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is
Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
2n 267×CCDB · ipcn-api-dl · CCDB · book-ipcn73-74 · CCDB · book-indian_vol1 +2
n 132×CCDB · ipcn-api-dl · CCDB · book-ipcn75-78
n 141×CCDB · Cave1962
n 261×CCDB · book-ipcn73-74
diploid inferred1×PloiDB · genus-scale
How far back this lineage goes — and how we know. Everything here is measured in Ma, short for “mega-annum”: millions of years ago. The chart reads left to right like a calendar of the Earth, from the deep past on the left to today at the right edgetop to bottom like a core drilled through the Earth, from the deep past at the top down to today at the bottom.
At a glance
When this lineage existed
How to read this: the coloured strip along the bottomdown the left is the geological calendar — the standard epochs (Pliocene, Pleistocene…) every museum uses, shown so you can see which chapter of Earth's history this lineage lived in. This lineage is a young one, so the strip is zoomed in to epochs — the finer subdivisions inside a period. The orange marker is the DNA clock: DNA accumulates mutations at a roughly steady rate, so comparing this species' DNA with its relatives estimates when the lineage split off — independently of any fossil.
Record type852 records
Origin
Range
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Holding institutions36 of 63 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
| Institution | Specimens |
|---|---|
| Chicago, US | 26 |
| Saint Louis, US | 24 |
| Bronx, US | 12 |
| Miami, US | 11 |
| University of Stellenboschlocation not on record | 10 |
| Puerto Ayora, EC | 6 |
| Philadelphia, US | 5 |
| Chapingo, MX | 5 |
| Smithfield, AU | 4 |
| Mérida, MX | 4 |
| Universidad de Caldas (UCaldas)location not on record | 4 |
| Tapachula, MX | 4 |
| Instituto Amazónico de Investigaciones Científicas - SINCHIlocation not on record | 4 |
| Durango, MX | 4 |
| Xiamen, CN | 4 |
| Paris, FR | 4 |
| Jardín Botánico de Cartagena "Guillermo Piñeres" (JBC)location not on record | 3 |
| Sri Ramaswamy Memorial Universitylocation not on record | 3 |
| Kew, GB | 2 |
| Instituto para la Investigación y la Preservación del Patrimonio Cultural y Natural del Valle del Cauca - INCIVAlocation not on record | 2 |
| Gujarat Biodiversity Gene Banklocation not on record | 2 |
| Corporación Autónoma Regional Para la Defensa de la Meseta de Bucaramanga (CDMB)location not on record | 2 |
| Canadian Department of Agriculturelocation not on record | 2 |
| Madison, US | 2 |
| Museo Nacional de Costa Rica (MNCR)location not on record | 2 |
| Riverside, US | 2 |
| Florida Museum of Natural History- Zoology, Paleontology & Paleobotanylocation not on record | 2 |
| Austin, US | 2 |
| Mexico City, MX | 2 |
| Río Palenque Science Centerlocation not on record | 1 |
| Canberra, AU | 1 |
| HUT Culture Collectionlocation not on record | 1 |
| Station d'Ecologie de Lamtolocation not on record | 1 |
| Kensington, AU | 1 |
| San Francisco de Campeche, MX | 1 |
| Minia, EG | 1 |
| Salvador, BR | 1 |
| MeiseBGlocation not on record | 1 |
| Iquitos, PE | 1 |
| Denver, US | 1 |
| Tampa, US | 1 |
| Herbario Selva Central Oxapampa - estación biológica del Jardín Botánico de Missourilocation not on record | 1 |
| UNICAMPlocation not on record | 1 |
| Lima, PE | 1 |
| Universidad Nacional de Colombia (UNAL)location not on record | 1 |
| Hudson, US | 1 |
| Mérida, MX | 1 |
| Guangzhou, CN | 1 |
| Berlin, DE | 1 |
| Tuxtla Gutiérrez, MX | 1 |
| Honolulu, US | 1 |
| ASUlocation not on record | 1 |
| CNF-UFHBlocation not on record | 1 |
| Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas (UDistrital)location not on record | 1 |
| Bloomington, US | 1 |
| UFBAlocation not on record | 1 |
| Gump Stationlocation not on record | 1 |
| Antiguo Cuscatlán, SV | 1 |
| Istituto Agrario Castelnuovolocation not on record | 1 |
| LDlocation not on record | 1 |
| BISHlocation not on record | 1 |
| Universiti Sains Malaysialocation not on record | 1 |
| Brisbane, AU | 1 |
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Where the DNA of Phyllanthus acidus was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Where its DNA was found
How strong is each trace?
Modelled climatemodelled
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.