These photos of Inkberry or Sea Grape, Scaevola plumieri, were taken at Tortuga Bay, Santa Cruz in the Galápagos Islands on two different days in early January 2012. This plant from the Goodeniaceae family is native to the Galápagos, and though McMullen [ref] says that S. plumieri is considered rare, we seemed to see a lot of it. The length of the back of the beach at Tortuga Bay is full of S. plumieri. Here is a fact sheet with more information on S. plumieri.
From our new friend the CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names - the generic comes from the name for Roman hero C. Mucius Scaevola, whose surname means “left-handed” and refers to the left-hand twisting of the corolla. The Roman hero thrust his left hand into a fire to prove his bravery and earned himself the surname scaevola. The specific name plumieri honors Charles Plumier, and 18th century French monk, botanist and illustrator. [dg] The common name, Sea Grape, refers to the mature fruit in that it looks like a grape. The other common name, Ink Berry, who knows, maybe it makes a good ink?
We prepared the spelling of the generic name in the sand with dried leaves and twigs. When we got ready to take the picture we found out that our new Lumix camera (TS3) died, so we resorted to a friend’s iPhone to capture the shot (Thanks Debbie and David!!). There is an ominous sky in the east, in the background.
A Marine Iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) Nearby the Bank of Scaevola plumieri at Tortuga Bay, Santa Cruz
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