Diospyros rotundifolia

Hiern

Dune diospyros

Ebenaceae Edible: Fruit 40 iNaturalist observations

iNaturalist· cc-by

iNaturalist· cc-by-nc

Description

An erect evergreen shrub or tree. It grows 4-11 m high. The trunk and branches are angular. It forms branches low down and they are wide spreading. The bark is smooth and dark brown. The flowers are white. They are small and 8 mm long and bell shaped. They occur singly in the axils of the leaves. The fruit is an oval berry. It is sticky when young and red when ripe.

Edible Uses

The ripe fruit are eaten raw.

Traditional Uses

The fruit are eaten raw.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Distribution

It is a tropical plant. It grows on sands. It grows from sea level to 200 m altitude. It grows on dunes. It grows along coastal regions. It can grow in arid places.

Where It Grows

Africa, East Africa, Mozambique, South Africa, Southern Africa, Tanzania,

Also Known As

Impapa, Mapiti, Mbaba, Munhentze

References (5)

Fox, F. W. & Young, M. E. N., 1982, Food from the Veld. Delta Books. p 184
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 52
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