Characteristics
An erect shrub. It has several stems. It grows 1-5 m high. The stems can be spiny. The bark is pale grey and fairly smooth. The leaves have 3 leaflets. The end one is the largest. Male and female flowers are on separate plants. The flowers are small and star like. They are greenish to pale yellow. The flowers are in groups 3 cm long in the axils of leaves. The fruit are 5 mm across and light brown.
| Life form |
perennial
|
| Growth form |
shrub
|
| Growth support |
free-standing
|
| Foliage retention |
deciduous
|
| Sexuality |
-
|
| Pollination |
-
|
| Spread |
-
|
| Mature width (meter) |
-
|
| Mature height (meter) |
1.0 - 5.0
|
| Root system |
-
|
| Rooting depth (meter) |
-
|
| Root diameter (meter) |
-
|
| Flower color |
-
|
| Blooming months |
-
|
| Fruit color |
-
|
| Fruiting months |
-
|
| Nitrogen fixer |
-
|
| Photosynthetic pathway |
c3
|
Environment
It is a tropical plant. It grows in regions with a marked dry season. It grows in regions with a rainfall less than 500 mm per year. It can tolerate drought. It can tolerate frost. In southern Africa it grows between 300-1,700 m altitude. It can grow in arid places.
| Light |
-
|
| Soil humidity |
-
|
| Soil texture |
-
|
| Soil acidity |
-
|
| Soil nutriment |
-
|
| Hardiness (USDA) |
-
|
Usage
The fruit are eaten raw. The fruit are rubbed in the hands to remove the skin which is blown away and the fruit eaten.
Cultivation
It can be cut back and will re-grow.
| Mode |
-
|
| Germination duration (days) |
-
|
| Germination temperacture (C°) |
-
|
| Germination luminosity |
-
|
| Germination treatment |
-
|
| Minimum temperature (C°) |
-
|
| Optimum temperature (C°) |
-
|
| Size |
-
|
| Vigor |
-
|
| Productivity |
-
|
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