Berchemia is a genus of woody flowering plants in the family Rhamnaceae, placed in the order Rosales. The genus comprises around 36 accepted species, most of which are climbing vines or scandent shrubs, though some grow as small to medium-sized trees. Members are found predominantly across Southeast Asia, with additional species in Africa and one — Berchemia scandens, the American rattan or supplejack — native to the southeastern United States.
The genus takes its name from the Dutch botanist Berthout van Berchem. Plants are characterised by strong, flexible woody stems; B. scandens produces stems that can reach 18 cm in diameter and have long been harvested for wickerwork. The genus belongs to the buckthorn family, which also includes well-known genera such as Rhamnus and Ziziphus.
Several species with long histories in Berchemia have since been reclassified. Berchemia discolor (bird plum or brown ivory) and Berchemia zeyheri (pink ivory or red ivory) are now placed in the genus Phyllogeiton. Both are significant African trees: bird plum (Phyllogeiton discolor) is a broadleaf tree of southern and eastern Africa, with edible date-like fruits important to local communities and wildlife including elephants, giraffe, and antelopes. Pink ivory (Phyllogeiton zeyheri) is one of the hardest and most prized African hardwoods, long regarded as the royal tree of the Zulu people and still protected by permit in South Africa.
In North America, B. scandens is notable beyond its use in basketry: indigenous peoples including the Houma used preparations from the vine in traditional medicine. The Asian species — including B. racemosa, B. floribunda, and B. lineata — grow across East and Southeast Asia and are valued in regional horticulture and folk medicine traditions.
Etymology
The genus name Berchemia honours Berthout van Berchem, a Dutch botanist. The epithet of one prominent species, B. zeyheri, commemorates Karl Zeyher (1799–1858), a German botanical and entomological collector who worked in the Cape Colony.
Distribution
Berchemia species occur primarily across Southeast Asia, with additional representation in Africa and one species — B. scandens — endemic to the southeastern United States. Within North America, B. scandens inhabits a wide range of habitats including swamps, bottomlands, streambanks, moist to dry upland forests, woodlands, glades, and prairies over calcareous substrates.
Ecology
Berchemia discolor (now Phyllogeiton discolor) supports large African mammals: its leaves are browsed by elephants, giraffe, and several antelope species, producing a distinct browse line on many trees. The fruits are eaten by monkeys, baboons, and birds. In North America, B. scandens colonises a variety of moist and dry habitats and is a component of bottomland and riparian forest communities.
Cultural Uses
Berchemia scandens stems have been used for wickerwork due to their strength and flexibility. Traditional medicinal uses by the Houma people included a decoction of the aerial parts used for impotency; other Native American groups used the plant as a blood purifier and the ashes of the vine to treat coughs. Berchemia zeyheri (pink ivory, now Phyllogeiton zeyheri) was the royal tree of the Zulu people — only royalty were permitted to possess it before the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. Its dense, attractively coloured wood remains among the most prized in the world, used for billiard cues, knife handles, and high-end crafts, and is now harvested under strictly limited permit in South Africa.
Taxonomy Notes
The genus Berchemia belongs to the family Rhamnaceae, order Rosales. Plants of the World Online accepted 36 species as of December 2025. Several former Berchemia species have been transferred to the closely related genus Phyllogeiton, including the well-known African species B. discolor (now Phyllogeiton discolor) and B. zeyheri (now Phyllogeiton zeyheri); these species may still appear under their former Berchemia names in older literature and some databases.
