Grewia pubescens

P. Beauv.

MalvaceaeFruit

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Ehoarn Bidault / Missouri Botanical Garden

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Picturae

What to Eat

Edible parts: Fruit pulp

Fruit - raw. The fruit is a 2 - 4 lobed drupe, each lobe around 6 - 7mm long and 5 - 6mm wide. The ashes of the burnt roots are used as a salt-like flavouring in foods.

Where to Find It

A tropical plant. It grows in secondary jungle and clearings in primary forest.

Africa, Benin, Central Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, East Africa, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo, West Africa,

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 straggling bush or small tree in the Malvaceae family, growing up to 9 m high. It is a tropical plant found in secondary jungle and clearings in primary forest.

How to Grow

Propagation: Seed - we have no specific information for this species but seed of this genus is generally best sown as soon as it is ripe. Stored seed has a hard seedcoat and may benefit from scarification before sowing in order to speed up and improve germination. This can usually be done by pouring a small amount of nearly boiling water on the seeds (being careful not to cook them!), allowing the mix to cool somewhat and then leaving it in a warm place to soak for 12 - 24 hours. Sow the seeds in situ or in a nursery seedbed or trays - do not allow the compost to become dry. Germination and early growth are usually quite quick. Cuttings - best taken with a heel.

Medicinal Uses

The leaves are febrifuge and an infusion is used in the treatment of fevers. Applied topically, the leaves or the mucilage extracted from them, are used to treat wounds, cuts, sores and ulcers. The leaf-sap is antidote and is used to treat venomous stings, bites, etc An infusion of the bark is used in the treatment of diarrhoea and dysentery. Applied topically, the bark, or the mucilage extracted from it, is used to treat wounds, cuts and sores. The root is used topically to treat smallpox pustules.

Other Uses

A fibre obtained from the bark is used to make cordage. The stems are beaten, washed and then dried to make a sponge-like material that is used for washing the body. The wood is light in weight, strong and elastic. It is used for spears

Notes

There are about 200 Grewia species. They are mostly tropical. The fruit of most may be edible. These were in the Sparrmanniaceae and the Tiliaceae.

Names & Synonyms

Grewia claessensii De Wild.Grewia gigantiflora K. Schum.Grewia tetragastris R. Br. ex Mast.

References (6)

Burkill, H. M., 1985, The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 5. Kew.
Dalziel, J. M., 1937, The Useful plants of west tropical Africa. Crown Agents for the Colonies London.
Jardin, C., 1970, List of Foods Used In Africa, FAO Nutrition Information Document Series No 2.p 140
Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 193
von Katja Rembold, 2011, Conservation status of the vascular plants in East African rain forests. Dissertation Universitat Koblenz-Landau p 168
World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew