Erythroxylum delagoense
Schinz
Small leaved coca tree
(c) graham_g, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
(c) Troos van der Merwe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Fruit
The bright red fleshy fruit are eaten fresh as a snack.
Where to Find It
It is a subtropical plant. It grows in dry soils. It grows below 1,350 m above sea level. It can grow in arid places.
Africa, East Africa, Eswatini, Mozambique, South Africa, Southern Africa, Swaziland,
How to Identify
An erect shrub or tree. It grows 2-6 m high. The bark is grey and rough. The branches are flattened near the tips. The leaves are alternate and the leaflets are small. They are broadly sword shaped. They are 1-3 cm long by about 1.5 cm wide. The leaf tips are rounded and they taper to the base. The flowers are white to yellow-green. The fruit are bright red and fleshy. They are about 1 cm long. They are edible.
Names & Synonyms
Ijobe, Izaza, Lijobe, Likhikhu, Luphehlwane, Umbanatsheni, Umneyana
References (7)
- Fox, F. W. & Young, M. E. N., 1982, Food from the Veld. Delta Books. p 188
- Long, C., 2005, Swaziland's Flora - siSwati names and Uses http://www.sntc.org.sz/flora/
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (1999). Survey of Economic Plants for Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (SEPASAL) database. Published on the Internet; http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/ceb/sepasal/internet [Accessed 16th April 2011]
- Ruiters-Welcome, A. K., 2019, Food plants of southern Africa. Ph.D. thesis. Univ. of Johannesburg p 53
- Schmidt, E., Lotter, M., & McCleland, W., 2007, Trees and shrubs of Mpumalanga and Kruger National Park. Jacana Media p 228
- 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
- World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
