Harpephyllum caffrum

Bernh. ex Krause

Kaffir plum, Wild plum

Anacardiaceae Edible: Fruit 3,264 iNaturalist observations

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Description

A small evergreen tree. It grows 6-15 m tall. It has a round compact crown. The trunk is usually clean and straight. It forests the trunk has buttresses. The bark is silvery white with crossways ridges. The leaves are up to 30 cm long. They are dark green and shiny. New leaves are red. The leaf stalk is 2.5-5 cm long and has a furrow along it. The leaves are crowded towards the ends of branches. The leaves are made up of 4-8 pairs of leaflets. They do not have stalks and there is a leaflet at the end. The leaves are 5-10 cm long and 1.3-2.5 cm wide. The end leaflet is broader and narrowed to the base while the side leaflets are slender and slightly curved. The leaves are leathery. Individual leaves turn red before they fall. Trees are separately male and female. The flowers are small and white. They occur at the ends of branches. The fruit is small with thin skin and sweet flesh. They are 2.5 cm long and 1.3 cm wide. They are red when ripe. The sour fruit pulp is edible. It has one large seed. It is in a distinctively pitted stone.

Edible Uses

The small red fruit has sour, edible pulp and can be eaten fresh, enjoyed especially by children. The fruit can be dried and develops a pleasant, salty flavor, and can also be used to make wine, jelly, or jam.

Traditional Uses

The fruit are eaten fresh. It is enjoyed especially by children. They can be dried and have a pleasant, salty flavour. They are also used for wine and jelly or jam.

Medicinal Uses

No medicinal uses mentioned in available data.

Distribution

A tropical and subtropical plant. It can stand moderate frosts. It adapts to most soils. It needs reasonably good drainage. The extensive root system can block drains. It can grow in arid places. It grows in Miombo woodland in Africa. It suits hardiness zones 9-11. Wittunga Botanical Gardens. Brisbane Botanical Gardens.

Where It Grows

Africa, Australia, East Africa, Eswatini, Fiji, Hawaii, India, Kenya, Mozambique, North America, Pacific, Puerto Rico, South Africa*, Southern Africa, St Helena, Swaziland, USA, West Indies, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

Cultivation

Plants can be grown from seed. It is best to plant fresh seed. The seeds are removed from the flesh and planted 2 cm deep. Stored seeds should be soaked in warm water for 24 hours before sowing. They germinate in 7-12 days. Plants can be grown from semi-ripe cuttings.

Propagation

Seed - easily grown from seeds[295. Stored seeds should be soaked in water for a day and then scrubbed with a brush to remove the fleshy part. It should not be planted too deeply as it can easily rot. The seeds take 7 to 11 days to germinate. Cuttings and truncheons. The truncheons should be dried before planting; they can be left lying in the shade for a day or until all exudate has dried. The hole in which the truncheon is going to be planted should be filled with a layer of river sand to promote root formation and improve drainage. This also helps to combat fungal diseases.

Other Uses

A mauve or pink dye is obtained from the bark. The pale reddish wood is hard, strong, fairly heavy and elastic. It polishes well but is not very durable. Very handsome when polished, it has been used as a general purpose timber, for furniture and beams and is also used for carving curios.

Production

Trees produce fruit in 4-5 years. A fruit weighs about 5 g.

Notes

There is only one Harpephyllum species.

Nutrition

Part	Moisture	kJ	kcal	Protein	Vit A	Vit C	Iron	Zinc
Fruit	87.5	171	41	0.7	—	70.7	1.2	0.9

Also Known As

Amagwenya, Ingwenya, Mmedibibi, Umgonyogonyu, Umgwenya, Umngwenya

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