Vangueria macrocalyx
(Sonder) Robyns
Crowned false medlar
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(c) Troos van der Merwe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Troos van der Merwe
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Reuben Heydenrych, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
Description
A small shrub or tree. It can be 13 m high. The bark is light grey. There are often spines at the ends of branches. The leaves are opposite and simple. They are oval and 3.5-14 cm long by 2.5-8 cm wide. They taper to both ends. Leaves are often unequal in the two halves. The leaf stalk can be 10 mm long. Leaves are larger and less hairy when growing in forest. Flowers are greenish-yellow. They are 1-1.5 cm across. The flowers occur in clusters in the axils of leaves. The fruit are oval and fleshy. They are 2 cm long. There are ridges long the fruit dividing them into 3-5 lobes. They are yellow-orange when mature. There is a strap-like calyx at the tip. The fruit are edible.
Edible Uses
The fleshy fruits are eaten fresh as a snack.
Traditional Uses
The fruit are eaten as a snack.
This uses section is brief — help expand it
Distribution
A subtropical plant. It occurs in open woodland, bush and mountain slopes. It grows on the edges of evergreen forest. It also occurs along streams and in dry rocky places and stony hillsides.
Where It Grows
Africa, Eswatini, South Africa, Southern Africa, Swaziland,
Other Information
The fruit are attractive.
Synonyms
Also Known As
Siphutse, Umphatsankhosi
References (10)
- Fox, F. W. & Young, M. E. N., 1982, Food from the Veld. Delta Books. p 323 (As Pachystigma macrocalyx)
- Jardin, C., 1970, List of Foods Used In Africa, FAO Nutrition Information Document Series No 2.p 152 (As Pachystigma macrocalyx)
- Long, C., 2005, Swaziland's Flora - siSwati names and Uses http://www.sntc.org.sz/flora/ (As Pachystigma macrocalyx)
- Ogle & Grivetti, 1985, (As Pachystigma macrocalyx)
- Palgrave, K.C., 1996, Trees of Southern Africa. Struik Publishers. p 889 (As Pachystigma macrocalyx)
Show all 10 references Hide references
- Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 172 (As Pachystigma macrocalyx)
- Ruiters-Welcome, A. K., 2019, Food plants of southern Africa. Ph.D. thesis. Univ. of Johannesburg p 97
- Schmidt, E., Lotter, M., & McCleland, W., 2007, Trees and shrubs of Mpumalanga and Kruger National Park. Jacana Media p 634 (As Pachystigma macrocalyx)
- Swaziland's Flora Database http://www.sntc.org.sz/flora (As Pachystigma macrocalyx)
- 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 (As Pachystigma pygmaeum)
