Boscia coriacea Pax

Evergreen, very twiggy shrub or small tree, up to 7 m. tall.. Young twigs glabrous or minutely puberulous and glabrescent.. Leaves petiolate; bladeelliptic or lanceolate-elliptic, usually narrow, more rarely broad, commonly ± 6 cm. long, 1.8 cm. wide, apically attenuate, sharply mucronate, basally cuneate, rigid and leathery, pale, glaucous, greyish-olive-green, glabrous; midrib very pronounced beneath, pale yellowish-green; primary nerves rather conspicuous by their pale colour, the secondary venation almost imperceptible; petiole 4–8 mm. long, wrinkled, glabrous or puberulous.. Inflorescence a terminal or axillary, short dense many-flowered raceme, rarely exceeding 3 cm. in length; pedicels filiform, thickening as the fruit ripens, 7–10 mm. long, glabrous or minutely puberulent.. Sepals ovate-elliptic to elliptic-oblong, ± 3 mm. long, marginally puberulous; receptacle-rim prominent with an uneven frill-like edge.. Stamens 6; filaments 4–5 mm. long; anthers 1 mm. long.. Gynophore rather shorter than the filaments when young, later equalling or a little exceeding them; ovary ovoid, appearing glabrous (× 20 magnification).. Fruits spheroid, 10–14 mm. in diameter, sometimes apiculate, olive-green at first but tending to darken with age, densely and softly velvety tomentose, especially when young.. Fig. 9/1–3, p. 54.

It is a tropical plant. It grows in drier areas. It is usually on salty or sandy soils. It can grow between 150-1,500 m above sea level. It can grow in arid places.

The fruit is eaten after long boiling. The fruit are pounded to remove the outer coat. The seeds are boiled briefly to remove the outer skin then the cotyledons (seed leaves) are boiled changing the water several times before eating. The ripe fruit is sucked for its sweet taste.

Plants can be grown from seeds sown directly in the field where they are to grow.