Dovyalis abyssinica (Bekele-Tesemma, 2007)

← Dombeya torrida

Bekele-Tesemma, Useful trees and shrubs for Ethiopia, 2007 Dovyalis abyssinica (Bekele-Tesemma, 2007)

Dracaena steudneri →

Dovyalis abyssinica Flacourtiaceae Indigenous

Common names

• Amargna: Koshim
• Oromugna: Angqgo, Ankakute, Dugo, Kurawa
• Somaligna: Ongolatz
• Tigrigna: Aihada

Ecology

This shrubby tree is found from Ethiopia, Somalia and Socotra south to Malawi in upland rainforest, dry evergreen forest, on river banks and sometimes in more open woodland. In Ethiopia, usually found along river courses in humid lower highland forest and Juniperus and Podocarpus forest, of Moist and Wet Weyna Dega and Dega agroclimatic zones in most regions, 1,700‑3,000 m.

Uses

Food (fruit), medicine (leaves), bee forage, live fence.

Description

An evergreen spiny shrub or tree to 8 m, crown rounded.

• BARK: Grey, spines to 4 cm long. Branchlets with very clear dotted breathing pores (lenticels).
• LEAVES: Shiny, dark green, oval, to 5 cm, tip blunt, edge unevenly rounded.
• FLOWERS: Green sepals, females single but male flowers in clusters with many stamens.
• FRUIT: A round berry about 2 cm across, surrounded by the calyx, green and hairy at first then smooth orange-yellow, with edible sweetsour flesh around the seeds. Propagation Seedlings (sow in seedbed and prick out).

Seed

Collect the ripe fruits to get seed.

• Treatment: After collection the fruits are soaked in water for 2–3 days. The water is then drained off and the fruits squeezed by hand to separate the seeds from the pulp. After washing, the seeds can be dried and stored for a short time.
• Storage: Use fresh seed for best results.

Management

Lopping, coppicing.

Remarks

The fruit is edible but acidic; excellent for jelly.