Capparis rosea
(Klotzsch) Oliv.
Red-fruited caper-bush
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GBIF
Description
A scrambling herb or shrub. It grows 2 m tall. It has sharp thorns in pairs. The branches are slightly zigzag shaped. The leaves are narrowly oval and 5 cm long by 3 cm wide. They have grey velvet hairs when young. The flowers occur singly in the axils of the leaves. They are greenish-white. The fruit is narrowly oval and 4 cm long by 2.5 cm wide. It has 6-8 ridges. When it is ripe it turns deep pink.
Edible Uses
The fruit is eaten.
Distribution
It is a tropical plant. In Mozambique it grows between sea level and 400 m above sea level. It grows in dry deciduous woodland.
Where It Grows
Africa, East Africa, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe,
Production
In East Africa, plants flower in September to October.
Notes
It is an Unresolved name in The Plant List.
Synonyms
Also Known As
Muklala, Sakuera
References (3)
- Flora of tropical East Africa, 1964,
- Flora of Zimbabwe www/zinbabweflora.co.zw 124430 (As Capparis erythrocarpos var. rosea)
- Grivetti, L. E., 1980, Agricultural development: present and potential role of edible wild plants. Part 2: Sub-Saharan Africa, Report to the Department of State Agency for International Development. p 71
