Grewia flava Dc.

Compact shrub about 2 m tall; young branchlets greyish or greyish brown, tomentellous; older branches dark purplish black. Leaf-blade 14-70 x 7.5-25 mm, elliptic or oblanceolate, rounded at the apex, cuneate and equal-sided at the base, margin finely serrulate to dentate, very finely and closely tomentellous above, rarely glabrescent, somewhat paler and more densely tomentellous below, venation fairly prominent and reticulate; petiole about 2 mm long, tomentellous; stipules about 5 mm long, subulate, tomentellous. Inflorescences all axillary; peduncles 7.5-10 mm long, tomentellous; pedicels normally 1 per peduncle, up to 10 mm long, tomentellous; basal bracts 3-4 mm long, very caducous, subulate, tomentellous. Buds obovoid, slightly sulcate. Sepals about 8 mm long, rarely up to 14 mm long, linear-lanceolate to linear-oblong, greenish grey tomentellous without, yellow and glabrous within, 3-nerved. Petals yellow, about 2/3 the length of the sepals, linear-oblong to oblanceolate, with a basal nectariferous claw circumvillous within, ledged above and sparsely pilose outside. Androgynophore about 1 mm tall, glabrous except at the apex, not extended above the node. Ovary villous, shallowly 2-lobed or 1-lobed by abortion, when the style is eccentrically placed on the ovary; style about 4 mm long, glabrous, with flattened, broad, stigma-lobes. Fruit about 8 mm in diam., globose or bilobed-globose, sparsely setulose, glabrescent, reddish when ripe.

A tropical plant. It grows in dry bush regions. It is often on sandy or limestone soils. It is resistant to drought and frost. It grows in area with an annual rainfall between 50-600 mm. It grows between 150-1,830 m above sea level. It can grow in arid places.

The fruit are eaten either fresh or after being pulped in a mortar. They are made into porridge. They are used for jam and juice. They are also used to make brandy and beer. The fruit are dried and eaten with dried locusts. The sun dried fruit can be stored.

Plants can be grown from seeds. Seeds must be cleaned and dried in the shade. They are soaked in hot water and left overnight. Seeds do not germinate easily. They take about 24 days to germinate. Seedlings should be transplanted at the 2 leaf stage.