Flueggea virosa (roxb. ex Willd.) Royle

A deciduous unarmed or rarely spiny much-branched sometimes scandent shrub or small tree up to 6 m., although more commonly 2–3 m.. Bark grey-brown, smooth, fissuring or roughened.. Branches erect or arching.. Twigs virgate, light brown or greyish, whitish-lenticellate.. Petioles adaxially grooved, narrowly winged, 3–6 mm. long; leaf-blade suborbicular-obovate, obovate, or elliptic, (1–)2–4(–6) cm. long, (0.5–)1–2(–3) cm. wide, obtuse, rounded or emarginate, rarely acute or acuminate, cuneate or rounded at base, rigidly membranous to thinly chartaceous, lateral nerves 5–9 pairs, looped within the margin and merging into the finely reticulate tertiary nerve network, not or scarcely raised above, somewhat prominent beneath.. Stipules lanceolate, 1.5–2 mm. long, acute, fimbriate, membranous, readily deciduous.. Flowers fragrant.. Male flowers: pedicels up to 9 mm. long; sepals dimorphic, the two outer lanceolate, 1.5 mm. long, acute, entire, not or scarcely hyaline, pale greenish yellow, the three inner obovate, 2 mm. long, rounded or retuse, distally erose-fimbriate, with hyaline margins; disc-glands fleshy, angular, subtuberculate; stamens 3 mm. long, anthers 0.5 mm. long, pale yellow; pistillode 2 mm. long, deeply 3-partite, the divisions appendiculate.. Female flowers: pedicels up to 6 mm. long; sepals ± as in the ♂ flowers, but slightly smaller; disc shallowly 5-lobed, 0.75 mm. diameter; ovary ovoid-subglobose, 1 mm. diameter; styles recurved, bifid, 1 mm. long, yellowish green.. Fruit depressed-globose, 2–3 mm. long, 4–5 mm. diameter, green at first, later becoming white and somewhat fleshy.. Seeds 2 mm. long, 1.5 mm. wide, shiny, yellowish brown.. Fig. 7.

A tropical plant. It suits tropical or subtropical places. It grows in coastal monsoon vine thickets. It is usually on sandy soil. It grows in dryland areas. It grows in the Sahel. It occurs in deciduous woodland and on rocky outcrops. It does best in well-drained soils but will grow in sandy and dry soils. It can tolerate drought. It is best in neutral or alkaline soils. It can tolerate salty conditions. It is sensitive to frost. It grows on river flats and well drained rocky slopes. It can grow in hot arid places. It needs an annual rainfall above 150 mm. It needs a sunny position. In Ethiopia it grows between 400-2,050 m altitude. It can grow in arid places. In Yunnan.

The ripe fruit is eaten raw. Caution: The fruit should probably not be eaten in large amounts due to alkaloids. CAUTION: The bark and probably the leaves contain poisonous alkaloids. The leaves are cooked and eaten as a vegetable.

Plants can be grown from seed. These should have the pulp washed off. Plants can develop a suckering habit if subject to constant fires. Plants should be spaced 2-3 m apart. If they are used for a hedge a spacing of 50 cm is suitable.