Maerua nervosa
(Hochst.) Oliv.
Vein-leaved bush-cherry, Sausage-bean bush-cherry
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Roddy CJ Ward, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Roddy CJ Ward
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Errol Douwes, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Errol Douwes, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
Description
A shrub or small tree. It grows 3 m tall. The leaves have 3 leaflets and these are 6 cm long by 3.5 cm wide. They are narrowly oval. They are thinly textured and shiny on both surfaces. The flowers are in clusters in the axils of leaves. The petals are small and there are 10-20 stamens up to 2 cm long. The fruit are oval and 3.5 cm long by 2 cm wide. They are shiny and reddish-yellow.
Distribution
It is a subtropical plant. It can grow in salty and dry soils. It can grow in arid places. In Zimbabwe it grows up to about 1,000 m above sea level.
Where It Grows
Africa, East Africa, Mozambique, South Africa, Southern Africa, Zimbabwe,
Synonyms
Also Known As
Matandana, Tiendaba
References (5)
- Fox, F. W. & Young, M. E. N., 1982, Food from the Veld. Delta Books. p 145
- HELY-HUTCHINSON, (As Niebuhria nervosa)
- 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 7th April 2011]
- Ruiters-Welcome, A. K., 2019, Food plants of southern Africa. Ph.D. thesis. Univ. of Johannesburg p 42
- 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
