Capparis moonii

Wight

Large caper

CapparaceaeFruitLeavesBark/Sap

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(c) Mayuresh Kulkarni, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Mayuresh Kulkarni

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(c) Dinesh Valke, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

What to Eat

Edible parts: Fruit, Leaves, Bark

The leaves and bark are used in curries. The viscous, pulpy flesh of the fruit is white or creamy at first, turning deep scarlet upon exposure. The reddish-brown, globose or subglobose fruit is about 130mm long and 100mm wide. Whilst the fruits of many species in thei genus are eaten, there are no records of the fruit of this species being edible.

Where to Find It

It is a tropical plant. It occurs in the Western Ghats in India.

Asia, India, Sri Lanka,

Countries: United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Brunei, Bhutan, China, Georgia, Indonesia, Israel, India, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Mongolia, Maldives, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Philippines, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Syria, Thailand, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen

How to Identify

A woody climbing shrub. It grows 3-5 m tall and can spread 10 m wide. The stems are woody at the base and 10-15 cm across. The leaves are 9-12 cm long by 3-5 cm wide. The flowers are in corymbs at the ends of branches. The fruit are reddish-brown and round. The flesh is bright red.

Medicinal Uses

The fruit is used medicinally and is considered to have benefits against bacteria and TB.

Other Uses

An extract of the fruit is used in commercial cosmetic preparations as an antimicrobial and antioxidant.

Wikipedia

Source ↗

Capparis moonii is a woody climber, belonging to the family Capparaceae which is native to India and Sri Lanka. It was described by Robert Wight in his Illustrations of Indian Botany in 1840.