Diospyros glabra (SA Tree List No. 603.1), the fynbos star-apple, is an evergreen small tree or shrub of mainly the Western Cape fynbos mountain slopes and forest margins. The leaves are spirally arranged, small and elliptic. The reddish colour of the new branchlets can be seen in the picture provided. Older bark is dark grey and mottled. The flowers are white with petals that curl back. The purplish fruits are almost round with the five-lobed calyx persisting into autumn. The seeds are bean-like, oblong and dark brown to almost black (Coates Palgrave, third edition, 2002).