Eugenia bukobensis — Edible Plant Database

What to Eat

Edible parts: Fruit

The ripe fruit are fleshy and sweet and eaten as a snack.

Where to Find It

A tropical plant. It grows in Uganda. It is often at the edge of the forest.

Africa, Central Africa, Congo, East Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, South Africa, Southern Africa, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia,

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 up to 5 m tall. The branches hang downwards. The stems can be hairy. The bark is smooth. The leaves are dull green and opposite. They are oval and 2-7 cm long. The tip is drawn out but the end is blunt. The leaf stalk is short. The leaves are thin and when crushed they have a sweet smell. The flowers occur as 3-9 together on thin stalks next to the leaves. There are 4-5 white sweet smelling petals. The fruit is purple black and about 1.5 cm across. As it ripens it turns hard brown like a coffee berry and has a crown of flower parts at the end.

How to Grow

It is normally grown from seed. Seed can be stored for 4 months. Seed treatment is not necessary. It can be grown as a hedge or fence.

Production

Ripe fruit are collected from June to December.

Notes

There are about 550 Eugenia species. They are mostly in tropical and subtropical South America. The name Eugenia bukobensis is probably conserved. See Taxon reference.

Names & Synonyms

Golasit, Kabikabika, Satol

Eugenia capensis var. natalensis

References (7)

Katende, A.B., Birnie, A & Tengnas B., 1995, Useful Trees and Shrubs for Uganda. Identification, Propagation and Management for Agricultural and Pastoral Communities. Technical handbook No 10. Regional Soil Conservation Unit, Nairobi, Kenya. p 292
Malaisse, F., 1997, Se nourrir en floret claire africaine. Approche ecologique et nutritionnelle. CTA., p 63
Ruffo, C. K., Birnie, A. & Tengnas, B., 2002, Edible Wild Plants of Tanzania. RELMA p 312 (As Eugenia capensis subsp. nyassensis)
Senbeta, F., et al, 2013, Diversity of Useful Plants in the Coffee Forests of Ethiopia. Ethnobotany Research & Applications 11:049-069
Verdcourt, B., Eilu, G., Katende, A., 2002, Proposal to Conserve the Name Eugenia bukobensis Engl. (Myrtaceae) with a Conserved Type. Taxon, Vol. 51, No. 2 p. 389
World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Yimer, A., et al, 2021, Ethnobotanical study of wild edible plants used by Meinit Ethnic Community at Bench-Maji Zone, Southwest Ethiopia. Research Square. p 6