Vitex pooara
Corbishley
Stinkbessie
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(c) Joseph Heymans, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), uploaded by Joseph Heymans
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Phil McLean, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
Description
A small to medium sized tree. It grows 5 m tall. The branches are spreading. The bark is grey-brown and peels in strips. The leaves are compound. They have 3-5 leaflets arranged like fingers on a hand.
Edible Uses
Fruit - raw or cooked. The fruits are 2cm long, very dark purple or black when ripe, and the calyx may enclose half the fruit. One drawback is that the juice may stain the mouth; after eating these chocolate berries everyone has black lips.
Traditional Uses
The fruit is eaten raw.
This uses section is brief — help expand it
Distribution
It is a subtropical plant.
Where It Grows
Africa, Botswana, South Africa*, Southern Africa,
Notes
Also put in the family Verbenaceae.
Nutrition
| Part | Moisture | kJ | kcal | Protein | Vit A | Vit C | Iron | Zinc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fruit | 72 | 406 | 97 | 1.1 | — | 2 | 1.9 | 0.4 |
Also Known As
Hardekool, Mburo, Mphuru, Poera-bessie, Poora-berry, Resin-leaf, Wild cherry
References (13)
- Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1920:333. 1920
- Fox, F. W. & Young, M. E. N., 1982, Food from the Veld. Delta Books. p 364
- Grivetti, L. E., 1980, Agricultural development: present and potential role of edible wild plants. Part 2: Sub-Saharan Africa, Report to the Department of State Agency for International Development. p 75
- INFOODS:FAO/INFOODS Databases
- Jardin, C., 1970, List of Foods Used In Africa, FAO Nutrition Information Document Series No 2.p 168
Show all 13 references Hide references
- Nyiligera, E., 2004, A Phytochemical and Pharmacological Investigation of South African Vitex Species. M. Sc thesis University of Witwatersrand.
- Palmer, E and Pitman, N., 1972, Trees of Southern Africa. Vol. 2. A.A. Balkema, Cape Town p 1953
- Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 199
- Quin, 1959,
- Ruiters-Welcome, A. K., 2019, Food plants of southern Africa. Ph.D. thesis. Univ. of Johannesburg p 72
- Van Wyk, Br. and van Wyk P., 2009, Field Guide to Trees of Southern Africa. Struik Nature. p 478
- Wehmeyer, A. S, 1986, Edible Wild Plants of Southern Africa. Data on the Nutrient Contents of over 300 species
- Welcome, A. K. & Van Wyk, B.-E., 2019, An inventory and analysis of the food plants of southern Africa. South African Journal of Botany 122 (2019) 136–179
