Cordia caffra

Sond.

Septee saucer-berry

Boraginaceae Edible: Fruit Potential hazards — see below 362 iNaturalist observations

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Description

A small tree. The crown is spreading or drooping. The bark is smooth, light and flaking. It grows 6 m tall and spreads 7 m wide. It is taller in forests. It loses its leaves during the year. The leaves are thin and oval and pointed. They are dark green above and paler underneath. They are 6-12 cm long. The flowers are creamy-white and have a scent. They are bell shaped and in clusters at the ends of the stems. The fruit are round and deep orange colour when ripe. They are produced in small clusters. They have a cup shaped calyx around the base.

Edible Uses

The round orange fruit can be eaten fresh or used in jams, desserts, and preserves, though they are not particularly tasty; the fruit are especially popular with children.

Traditional Uses

The fruit can be eaten fresh or used in jams, desserts and preserves.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Medicinal Uses

Parts of this tree are used medicinally to treat sore eyes, fever and wounds.

Known Hazards

The fruit are not tasty.

Distribution

It is a subtropical plant. It is hardy to light frosts. It can grow in sun or shade. It usually grows in dry forest.

Where It Grows

Africa, Botswana, East Africa, Eswatini, Mozambique, South Africa, Southern Africa, Swaziland,

Cultivation

Plants can be grown from seeds.

Propagation

Seed - germinates fairly quickly.

Other Uses

Dry sticks are rubbed together to make fire caused by friction heat. The heartwood is a pinkish colour. The wood is moderately heavy, hard, compact and durable. Easily worked, it does not chip and cut when planed and polishes well. It is used to make attractive furniture. The sapwood is used to build huts. Trees respond well to trimming and can be pruned successfully into any desired shape. This probably means that it could be grown as a hedge.

Production

It is fairly fast growing.

Other Information

The fruit are not tasty. The fruit are especially eaten by children.

Also Known As

Muconanjoho, Septee tree, Umbofu, Umlovi, Umlovu

References (11)

Cunningham, 1985,
Fox, F. W. & Young, M. E. N., 1982, Food from the Veld. Delta Books. p 133
Joffe, P., 2007, Creative Gardening with Indigenous Plants. A South African Guide. Briza. p 51
Long, C., 2005, Swaziland's Flora - siSwati names and Uses http://www.sntc.org.sz/flora/
Lyle, S., 2006, Discovering fruit and nuts. Land Links. p 154

Show all 11 references

Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 70
Ruiters-Welcome, A. K., 2019, Food plants of southern Africa. Ph.D. thesis. Univ. of Johannesburg p 38
Schmidt, E., Lotter, M., & McCleland, W., 2007, Trees and shrubs of Mpumalanga and Kruger National Park. Jacana Media p 570
Swaziland's Flora Database http://www.sntc.org.sz/flora
Van Wyck, B., & Van Wyck, P, 1997, Field Guide to Trees of Southern Africa. Struik. p 134
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