Erythrococca polyandra
(Pax. & K. Hoffm.) Prain
Forest red-berry
EuphorbiaceaeLeaves
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(c) Bart Wursten, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Bart Wursten
(c) Bart Wursten, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Bart Wursten
What to Eat
Edible parts: Leaves
The leaves are edible.
Where to Find It
It is a tropical plant. It grows in mixed forest between 200-1,980 m above sea level.
Africa, Central Africa, East Africa, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zimbabwe,
Countries: Angola, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Benin, Botswana, Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, Congo (Republic), Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Comoros, Liberia, Lesotho, Libya, Morocco, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, Sao Tome & Principe, Eswatini, Chad, Togo, Tunisia, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe
How to Identify
A shrub or small tree. It grows 10 m high. The bark is thin and grey with slight cracks. The branches arch over. The leaves are oval and alternate. They are 13 cm long by 7 cm wide. They are dark green. The base is rounded with small orange glands. There are irregular teeth along the edge. The male and female flowers are on separate trees. They are green/ The fruit have 2 lobes and are 5-9 mm across. The seed has a red covering.
Names & Synonyms
Claoxylon polyandrum Pax & K. Hoffm
References (2)
- East African Herbarium records, 1981,
- Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 110
