Botanical name

Grewia bicolor (SA No 458)

Other names

White raisin, bastard brandybush; basterrosyntjie (Afrikaans)

Dimensions

Shrub or small tree

Description of stem

Many-stemmed; dark grey bark; fissured and peeling in old trunks, smooth when young

Description of leaves

Elliptic, varying, yellow-green above, whitish and hairy below; apex tapering; base tapering or rounded; margin inconspicuously toothed; deciduous in dry areas

Description of flowers

Star-shaped, yellow, axillary flowers, 1,5 cm in diameter

Description of seed/fruit

Single or two-led; red-brown, appearing autumn into winter

Description of roots

Variation

Propagation and cultivation

Can be grown from seed, soak seed in water; can be grown from cuttings

Tolerances

Drought resistant

Uses

Bark used to make ropes; as a garden plant attracts birds; astringent-sweetish fruits edible; browsed by livestock

Ecological rarity

Common

Pests and diseases

Other

Location

Woodland and mountainous areas, ranging from dry to higher rainfall areas; often found at termite mounds

Distribution

North West, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Kwazulu-Natal

Country

South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia and northward throughout many African countries to Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan and the Middle East into Saudi Arabia and Yemen