Dovyalis caffra

Description

A spiny shrub. It grows up to 6-9 m tall. It has long straight spines on the trunk and branches. They are about 3 cm long. The bark is white when young. The leaves are simple and carried one after another along the stem. The edges of the leaves roll back slightly. The leaves are dark green and glossy. Plants are separately male and female. The female flowers are 3 mm long and light green. They occur as 1-3 together in the axils of leaves. The male flowers are in dense short clusters in the axils of leaves. The fruit are medium sized and yellow. They are round and 2.5-4 cm across. The skin is tough. The fruit are edible.

Edible Uses

The fruit are eaten fresh, used in jams and desserts, and pickled when green. The acidic fruit are high in pectin and can be added in small amounts to help jams set.

Traditional Uses

The fruit are eaten fresh and used in jams and desserts. The fruit are acidic. Because the fruit are high in pectins they can be added in small amounts to help jams to jell and set. The green fruit are also pickled.

Medicinal Uses

The fruit are rich in Vitamin C.

Distribution

It is native to S and E Africa. It is subtropical. It can withstand drought but cannot tolerate frosts. They grow naturally in areas with temperatures in the range 14-22°C. Often they grow between 800 and 1200 m altitude but grow up to 2450 m altitude in Kenya. The rainfall where it grows naturally is 1000-1700 mm per year. It needs well drained soils. It is often on termite mounds. It can grow in arid places. It suits hardiness zones 9-10.

Where It Grows

Africa, Albania, Asia, Australia, Balkans, Botswana, Brazil, Britain, Central America, Cuba, Djibouti, East Africa, Egypt, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Europe, Greece, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Malta, Mediterranean, Middle East, Mozambique, Namibia, North Africa, North America, Pacific, Philippines, Portugal, SE Asia, Slovenia, South Africa, Southern Africa*, South America, Spain, St Helena, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, USA, West Indies, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

Cultivation

Plants are grown from seed. Seed are collected from fruit. The ripe fruit are cracked and allowed to rot for one week before removing the seed. There are about 20 seeds in each fruit. The seeds should be sown immediately in a nursery bed. Seedlings come through the soil in 12 days. When bushes are established they need to have their crown thinned out to allow more fruit to be produced. The trees can be used as a fence or hedge. Trees can be grown from cuttings, air layering and grafting. It can be grown as a hedge.

Propagation

Seed - no pre-treatment is required. If dried carefully and stored at 3°c, the seed can remain viable for several years. Seeds are sown in flat seedling trays and covered with a layer of fine sand and kept moist. Under ideal conditions, germination occurs within 18 - 20 days. Seedlings transplant well Layering. Graft or shield-bud desirable varieties on to seedling rootstocks. Hardwood cuttings. The cut tips should be treated with root-stimulating hormones before planting out into river sand

Other Uses

If the fruit is soaked in water and allowed to ferment, the liquid drained off has herbicidal properties. The wood is white, dense and heavy; usually too small to be of general use. The plants have dense spiny shoots that make an impenetrable barrier. They are well suited to making hedges so long as they are trimmed regularly. Trees exhibit allelopathy and will inhibit the growth of other plants nearby.

Production

Trees produce fruit in 5-6 years from seed and 2-3 years from cuttings. Fruit need to be fully ripe when harvested. Fruit can be harvested after they fall. Fruit mature in 90 days.

Other Information

A popular fruit.

Notes

The fruit are rich in Vitamin C. There are about 22 Dovyalis species. Also put in the Flacourtiaceae family.

Nutrition

References (67)

• Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 182
• Arora, R. K., 2014, Diversity in Underutilized Plant Species - An Asia-Pacific Perspective. Bioversity International. p 68
• Awodoyin, R.O., Olubode, O.S., Ogbu, J.U., Balogun, R.B., Nwawuisi, J.U. and Orji, K.O., 2015, Indigenous Fruit Trees of Tropical Africa: Status, Opportunity for Development and Biodiversity Management. Agricultural Sciences, 6, 31-41
• Barwick, M., 2004, Tropical and Subtropical Trees. A Worldwide Encyclopedic Guide. Thames and Hudson p 156
• Bodkin, F., 1991, Encyclopedia Botanica. Cornstalk publishing, p 357

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