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In a study in National Key Deer Wildlife Refuge on Big Pine Key, Florida, Carlson et. al (1993) found that Morinda royoc was one of the pineland species most heavily browsed by deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium). This plant was high in crude protein year-round. After red and black mangroves, Morinda royoc had the highest importance value in a comprehensive study of Key Deer diet based on analyses of stomach contents (Klimstra and Dooley 1990).
Morinda royoc is recorded as a nectar plant for numerous butterfly species, including Bahamian swallowtail (Papilio andraemon), cassius blue (Leptotes cassius), Florida duskywing (Ephyriades brunneus), Florida white (Appias drusilla), giant swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes), great southern white (Ascia monuste phileta), gulf fritillary (Agraulis vanillae), hammock skipper (Polygonus leo), julia (Dryas iulia), large orange sulphur (Phoebis agarithe), mangrove skipper (Phocides pigmalion), southern broken-dash (Wallengrenia otho), Schaus' swallowtail (Papilio aristodemus), tropical checkered-skipper (Pyrgus oileus), and zestos skipper (Epargyreus zestos) (Gann et al. 2008).
Lack (1976) reported that the flowers of Morinda royoc are visited for nectar by the Vervain Hummingbird (Mellisuga minima).
Redgal (Morinda royoc) is a perennial vine or clambering shrub that typically reaches 1 to 3 meters, is usually broader than tall, and sometimes forms dense patches. It produces attractive small white flowers year-round and succulent yellow berry-like fruit. (Gann et al. 2008). It is pollinated by insects and its seeds are dispersed by animals that consume the fruit (Catzim 2007). It has a variety of traditional uses as medicine, as an aphrodisiac, and as a source of yellow, orange, or red dyes (Morton 1992 and references therein; Austin 2004 and references therein). It is a member of the plant family Rubiaceae, which also includes coffee, quinine, and the familiar ornamental gardenias.
Morinda royoc is the dominant representative of the genus Morinda in the New World. It is very commonly found in thickets and pinelands, on limestone, and not far from the seacoast of southeastern Florida and the Florida Keys. It is also a very familiar plant in the Bahamas, the Caicos Islands, the West Indies, Cayman Islands, Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao, Central America, Yucatan, and coastal northern South America (Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador). It was listed as a plant of Bermuda in 1845 and 1910 but had seemingly vanished by 1918. (Woodson et al. 1980; Morton 1992 and references therein) Woodson et al. note that all their recorded Panama collections were made on or near beaches.
Gann et al. (2008) report Morinda royoc from the following counties in Florida: Collier, Lee, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe (Keys), Monroe (mainland), and Palm Beach Counties.
Gann et al. (2008) report Morinda royoc from the following habitat types in Florida: coastal berm, coastal strand, disturbed upland, marl prairie, pine rockland, rockland hammock, and shell mound.
Redgal (Morinda royoc) is a sprawling and clambering shrub or vine, ascending to a maximum height of about 6 meters. Its evergreen leaves are opposite or in whorls of 3, narrow-lanceolate or oblong-elliptic, 5-10 cm in length, 1.5-4 cm wide, dark-green, glossy, and faintly rough on the upper surface with a few hairs beneath. Small, white or sometimes reddish, 5-lobed flowers are borne in dense heads 7-10 mm wide. The yellow, somewhat raspberry-like fruits, 2-3.5 cm long and 2 cm wide, are juicy and present all year. The stone is ovalish, 5 mm long, and buoyant, having a cavity and pits like those that keep the related seagoing M. citrifolia afloat for long periods. (Morton 1992)
Morinda yucatanensis Greenman is a junior synonym of M. royoc (Woodson et al. 1980; Morton 1992).
The roots of Morinda royoc have been used to produce yellow and orange dyes. It has also had a wide variety of uses in folk medicine across its range. (Morton 1992 and references therein; Austin 2004 and references therein)
