Monanthotaxis caffra
(Sond.) Verdc.
Dwaba-berry
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Ricky Taylor, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Ricky Taylor, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Ricky Taylor, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
Description
A woody climber or small tree. It grows attached to other plants. It can be erect or a scrambler. The leaves are alternate and have short stalks. The leaves are oval and 7 cm long by 3 cm wide. There are a few cream coloured flowers. They are about 1.5 cm across but hardly open. The clusters of fruit mature separately with small fleshy, one-seeded fruit.
Edible Uses
The fruit are eaten raw, dried, or made into jams and jellies.
Traditional Uses
The fruit are eaten raw. They can be dried. They are also used for jams and jelly.
This uses section is brief — help expand it
Distribution
It is a tropical and subtropical plant. It grows in dry places. It grows in areas with a rainfall below 600 mm. It can grow in arid places.
Where It Grows
Africa, East Africa, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa, Southern Africa, Swaziland,
Notes
There are about 50 Monanthotaxis species.
Synonyms
Also Known As
Amazivendu, Chiculhula, Dwababessie, Idwaba, Imxope, Isidwaba, Libundza, Lochentima, Masweleti, Maswete, Sititane, Umazwensalonhlope, Umqogi-wezihlanya, Umtitane, Umxobe, Viriga
References (12)
- Fox, F. W. & Young, M. E. N., 1982, Food from the Veld. Delta Books. p 83
- Long, C., 2005, Swaziland's Flora - siSwati names and Uses http://www.sntc.org.sz/flora/
- Palmer & Pitman, 1972,
- Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 55
- 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 28th March 2011] (As Popowia caffra)
Show all 12 references Hide references
- Ruiters-Welcome, A. K., 2019, Food plants of southern Africa. Ph.D. thesis. Univ. of Johannesburg p 18
- Schmidt, E., Lotter, M., & McCleland, W., 2007, Trees and shrubs of Mpumalanga and Kruger National Park. Jacana Media p 110
- Swaziland's Flora Database http://www.sntc.org.sz/flora
- van Wyk, Be., & Gericke, N., 2007, People's plants. A Guide to Useful Plants of Southern Africa. Briza. p 48
- van Wyk, B-E., 2011, The potential of South African plants in the development of new food and beverage products. South African Journal of Botany 77 (2011) 857–868
- 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
