Psydrax obovatus
(Klotzsch ex Eckl. & Zeyh.) Bridson
Mountain Quar, Quar, Black alder, Pioneer canthium
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Craig Peter, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Craig Peter, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Craig Peter, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
Description
A tree. It can be a shrub or grow to 15 m tall. In coastal sand dunes it is gnarled and twisted. It can have a stem up to 46 cm across. Old trunks are black, rough and ribbed. The leaves are simple and opposite. They are 1.5-5 cm long and sword shaped. The base is narrowed. The edges are rolled inwards. Leaves are dark green and shiny above and paler and duller underneath. The flowers are small and green. They have a sweet scent. They occur in many-flowered bunches in the axils of leaves. The fruit are small and green. They become black when ripe. They are 6 mm across. They have 1-2 seeds. The fruit are edible.
Edible Uses
The fruit and leaves are eaten; the fruit are eaten as a snack.
Traditional Uses
The fruit are eaten as a snack.
This uses section is brief — help expand it
Distribution
A tropical plant. It occurs in coastal and inland forest. On coastal dunes it can be dwarfed and twisted.
Where It Grows
Africa, East Africa, Eswatini, Mozambique, South Africa, Southern Africa, Swaziland, Africa, Zimbabwe,
Notes
Var. elliptica in Zimbabwe.
Synonyms
Also Known As
Umvutfwamini
References (10)
- Cunningham, 1985,
- Fox, F. W. & Young, M. E. N., 1982, Food from the Veld. Delta Books. p 329 (As Canthium obovatum)
- Long, C., 2005, Swaziland's Flora - siSwati names and Uses http://www.sntc.org.sz/flora/
- Ogle & Grivetti, 1985,
- Palgrave, K.C., 1996, Trees of Southern Africa. Struik Publishers. p 884 (As Canthium obovatum)
Show all 10 references Hide references
- Palmer, E and Pitman, N., 1972, Trees of Southern Africa. Vol. 2. A.A. Balkema, Cape Town p 2101 (As Canthium obovatum)
- Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 174
- 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
- www.theplantlist.org
