Coast goldleaf, Velvet sweetleaf
Bridelia micrantha

Family: Phyllanthaceae

What it is like

A deciduous tree. It grows up to 21 m tall. It has a wide leafy crown. The trunk is grey-brown. It is smooth when young but rough when older. The twigs are knobbly and covered with small scattered raised brown dots. The leaves are simple and slightly wavy. They are oval and have a point at the end. The base is narrowed or rounded. The leaves are 4-18 cm long and 2.5-10 cm wide. There are 8-15 pairs of veins. The veins and midrib are raised under the leaf. The leaves are on short robust leaf stalks. Young leaves are red. The male and female flowers occur on the same tree. The male flowers have stalks and the female flowers have no stalks. The flowers are white in in clusters in the axils of leaves. The fruit are small and oval. They are black when ripe and 10 mm long by 7 mm wide. They are edible.

There are about 60 Bridelia species.

Where it is found

A tropical tree. It grows in open woodland and near rivers. It can stand some frost. It is drought resistant. In Malawi it grows between 500-1,750 m altitude. It grows in areas with a rainfall between 800-2,500 mm per year. It can grow in arid places. It can grow in seasonally flooded areas.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Congo DR, Congo R, Côte d'Ivoire, East Africa, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Reunion, Rwanda, Sahel, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Southern Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, West Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

The fruit are eaten raw. They are also used for jam and juice. The bark is eaten as a famine food. The bark is used as a stimulant.

They are eaten especially by children. It is cultivated.

Edible parts

Fruit, roots, leaves, bark, seed

How it is grown

Plants are grown from seed. Seed must be sown fresh. The fruit pulp must be removed and then the seeds sown. The seedlings can be transplanted at the 2 leaf stage. They transplant easily. It can be grown by cuttings and root suckers.

It is fast growing. Fruit are collected at the end of the rainy season. In South Africa fruit are available April to May. A fruit weighs 0.4 g.

Its other names

Local names

Aericho, Akati, Athuno, Bissaca, Bissai, Bissaio, Bissaque, Bissoia, Bussaca, Chuguru, Dimualongo, Endure, Fibweza, Fudetchir, Gangan, Gugri, Imphisimakhata, Isihlalamangewibi, Kapasa, Kimwindu, Kimzindu, M'bonhe, Mahlombe, Massopa, Mitserie, Mitzeerie, Mkarakara, Mkarati, Mlewezi, Molyamahogovu, Motsere, Mpasa, Msonga, Msopa, Msumba, Mtututu, Muindu, Munzere, Mutsinguno, Mwisya, Nkarati, N'taque, N'tongue, Olanga, Orweco, Rigaa arba, Swatima, Tagate, Tolingi, Tolingue, Umhlalamagwababa, Umhlahlamakawaba, Untangue, Untongue, Utchak, Welakoo, Xema, Yegisla-tifir, Yejega

Synonyms

Bridelia abyssinica Pax; Bridelia abyssinica var. densiflora Gehrm.; Bridelia abyssinica var. rosenii Gehrm.; Bridelia ferruginea var. gambicola Hiern; Bridelia mildbraedii Gehrm.; Bridelia speciosa var. trichoclada Müll.Arg.; Bridelia stenocarpa Müll.Arg.; Bridelia zanzibarensis Vatke & Pax; Bridelia zanzibarensis var. sericea Gehrm.; Candelabria micrantha Hochst.;