Rothmannia globosa

(Hochst.) Keay

September bells, Small-flowered rothmannia

RubiaceaeFruit

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What to Eat

Edible parts: Fruit

The fruit are eaten raw.

Where to Find It

It is a tropical plant. It grows in coastal and inland forest. It can tolerate some frost. It suits hardiness zones 9-11.

Africa, Australia, East Africa, Eswatini, South Africa, Southern Africa, Swaziland, Zambia,

Countries: Angola, Australia, 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 small tree. It grows 4-7 m high but can be 15 m high. Leaves are shiny. They are simple and opposite. They are 3.8-10 cm long. They are often sword shaped. The base is narrow. The leaves are dark green above and paler underneath. It has bell-shaped flowers. These occur singly or in clusters on short side branches. The flowers are 3.8 cm across. They are white and can have pink marks. They have a sweet scent. The fruit are round and 1.9-2.5 cm across. The shell is soft and corky but becomes hard later. The seeds are flat and imbedded in the pulp. The fruit are edible.

Wikipedia

Source ↗

Rothmannia globosa is a small but highly decorative South African tree of the family Rubiaceae. It occurs in evergreen forest and along forest margins in the Eastern Cape and north to Limpopo Province and Eswatini. Bark is greyish-brown with rectangular markings. Leaves are glossy, often with yellowish to maroon veins on the underside with acarodomatia in the axils – acarodomatia are common in this family and are a useful diagnostic character. The specific name refers to the spherical fruits of about 25mm diameter.

Production

It is fairly fast growing.

Notes

There are about 20-30 Rothmannia species.

Names & Synonyms

Bell flowered gardenia, Bell Gardenia, Cape Jasmine, Muulwi, Sikoba, Tree gardenia

Gardenia globosa Hochst.

References (15)

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