Jubaeopsis caffra Becc.

Clustered, pleonanthic, monoecious palm up to 8 m high. Stems up to 0.4 m in diameter, erect to reclining, branching at the base and also aerially by forking, bearing leaf sheath remains distally, eventually becoming bare, marked with close leaf scars. Leaves pinnate, up to approximately 6 m long, arranged in 5 vertical rows, marcescent or neatly abscising; sheaths tubular, soon disintegrating into an interwoven mass of fibres; rachis ± straight or curved; apparent petiole adaxially channelled, abaxially rounded; margins bearing leaf sheath fibre remains or becoming smooth; leaflets reduplicate, the tips mostly asymmetrically 2-lobed, abaxial surface bearing ramenta along the vein. Inflorescence solitary, interfoliar, branching to 1 order, shorter than the leaves; peduncle elongate, prophyll tubular, 2-keeled, enclosed within the leaf sheaths, splitting apically; peduncular bract tubular and entirely enclosing inflorescence in bud, later splitting longitudinally along abaxial face, becoming woody; rachis usually shorter than peduncle, bearing numerous spirally arranged, rather distant, spreading rachillae, each subtended by a low triangular bract; rachillae usually bearing proximally few to numerous spirally arranged triads consisting of 2 lateral staminate flowers and a central pistillate flower, distally bearing paired or solitary staminate flowers; rachilla bracts and floral bracteoles small. Staminate flowers sessile, 12-20 mm long; sepals 3, separate, imbricate, ± triangular, keeled; petals 3, separate, valvate, much larger than the sepals, boat-shaped with triangular tips, stamens (6)7-16, anthers basally sagittate, dorsifixed, introrse; pistillode small, irregularly trifid. Pistillate flowers ovoid, up to 10 mm long; sepals 3, separate, broad, rounded with pointed tips, imbricate; petals 3, separate, ± twice as long as sepals, broad, rounded, imbricate except at the short valvate triangular tips; staminodial ring collar-like, very briefly toothed or consisting of several irregular tooth-like lobes; gynoecium ovoid, trilocular, triovulate, stigmas 3, very short, ovules hemi-anatropous, laterally attached. Fruit 1-seeded, up to 40 mm long and 42 mm in diameter, orange at maturity, globose with a short apical beak, stigmatic remains apical; epicarp smooth, mesocarp thin, fibrous, endocarp thick and bony, with 3 vertical grooves, the pores lateral just below equator. Seed basally attached, endosperm homogeneous with a large central cavity; embryo lateral, next to one of the endocarp pores. Germination remote tubular, eophyll entire, lanceolate.

It grows along river banks in Pondo land in South Africa. It grows naturally on rocky cliffs near rivers. It suits warm temperate and subtropical regions. It favours sandy soil where groundwater is available. It cannot tolerate frost. It grows between 100-150 m above sea level.

The fruit are eaten when green. It is the sweet edible flesh inside the seeds.

It can be grown from seed. Seed are slow and erratic to germinate. Growing seed on the surface of propagating mix and covering them with sphagnum moss has helped germination. Young plants can tolerate exposure to sun. It can be grown vegetatively by making a vertical cut in the leaf crown.