Erythrococca menyharthii

(Pax) Prain

Northern red-berry

Euphorbiaceae Edible: Leaves, Fruit, Vegetable 39 iNaturalist observations

iNaturalist· cc-by

iNaturalist· cc-by-nc

Description

A straggly shrub. It grows 1-3 m high. It has a lose open crown. The bark is pale grey, smooth and flaking. The wood is soft. Young growth has soft hairs. The leaf blades are 2-10 cm long by 1-6 cm wide. They are oval or sword shaped. The male flower clusters are 1-5 cm long. The female flower clusters are 1-3 cm long. The fruit are 4 mm long by 9 mm wide. It can have 3 lobes. They are red when ripe. The seeds are 3-4 mm across.

Edible Uses

The leaves are eaten as a green vegetable and added to soups. The fruit are eaten fresh.

Traditional Uses

The leaves are eaten as a green vegetable. They are also added to soups. The fruit are eaten fresh.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Medicinal Uses

The roots are ground and eaten with honey as a treatment against cough. The leaf sap is applied as drops in the eye to act as an anti-venom after attacks by spitting snakes.

Distribution

It is a tropical plant. It grows in sandy soils and Kalahari sands. It grows 300-1,050 m altitude. It can grow in arid places.

Where It Grows

Africa, Angola, Botswana, Central Africa, East Africa, Eswatini, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Southern Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

Cultivation

A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required.

Synonyms

Claoxylon menyharthii PaxClaoxylon virens N. E. Br.

Also Known As

Dipoko, Modijwane, Muntyonto, Ninaghovo, Noordelike rooibessie, Poko

References (19)

Flora Zambesiaca. http://apps.kew.org/efloras
Fowler, D. G., 2007, Zambian Plants: Their Vernacular Names and Uses. Kew. p 25
Fox, F. W. & Young, M. E. N., 1982, Food from the Veld. Delta Books. p 197
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 70
Grubben, G. J. H. and Denton, O. A. (eds), 2004, Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables. PROTA, Wageningen, Netherlands. p 299

Show all 19 references

Long, C., 2005, Swaziland's Flora - siSwati names and Uses http://www.sntc.org.sz/flora/
Magwede, K., van Wyk, B.-E., & van Wyk, A. E., 2019, An inventory of Vhavenḓa useful plants. South African Journal of Botany 122 (2019) 57–89
Mannheimer, C. A. & Curtis. B.A. (eds), 2009, Le Roux and Muller's Field Guide to the Trees and Shrubs of Namibia. Windhoek: Macmillan Education Namibia. p 258
Matlhare, T., et al, Vegetables in Botswana. p 21 Bioversity website.
Okigbo, B.N., Vegetables in Tropical Africa, in Opena, R.T. & Kyomo, M.L., 1990, Vegetable Research and development in SADCC countries. Asian Vegetable Research and development Centre. Taiwan. p 38
Oyen, L.P.A., 2008. Erythrococca bongensis Pax. [Internet] Record from Protabase. Schmelzer, G.H. & Gurib-Fakim, A. (Editors). PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa), Wageningen, Netherlands. < http://database.prota.org/search.htm>. Accessed 16 October 2009.
Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 110
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (1999). Survey of Economic Plants for Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (SEPASAL) database. Published on the Internet; http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/ceb/sepasal/internet [Accessed 16th April 2011]
Ruiters-Welcome, A. K., 2019, Food plants of southern Africa. Ph.D. thesis. Univ. of Johannesburg p 54
Schmidt, E., Lotter, M., & McCleland, W., 2007, Trees and shrubs of Mpumalanga and Kruger National Park. Jacana Media p 278
Scudder, 1971,
Swaziland's Flora Database http://www.sntc.org.sz/flora
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
World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew