| DESCRIPTION: It is an evergreen shrub or tree up to 8-10 m high. The smooth, green, greyish-brown to dark grey bark is fissured in rectangular patches. Fruit greenish turning purple when mature, rough on the outside, shaped like a small egg, about 2 cm long and 1 cm wide, pointed at the end, with a white seed coated with a slimy red skin. USE: Fruits and seeds are edible, seeds need to be boiled for a long time before they can be eaten. Leaves are very palatable and browsed by all livestock. Wood used for small implements and fuel. It is often planted in villages as an ornamental and shade tree. GROWING PERIOD: Perennial. COMMON NAMES: mikah (Arabic), mkupa (Swahili). FURTHER INF: It occurs in thorn bushes or scrubs, on rocky hillsides and saline riverbeds. It mainly occupies the arid and semi-arid regions of Africa. In Kenya, D. glabra is found mainly in the northern coast and provinces. Trees are able to withstand short-term waterlogging. |
