Grewia mollis

Family: Malvaceae

What it is like

A shrub or tree. It is straggling in form and almost a climber. It grows up to 7 m tall. The bark is fibrous. The leaves are 8-17 cm long by 2.5-8.5 cm wide. The leaves are grey green on top. They are lighter underneath, and hairy. The edges of the leaves have teeth. The flowers are in the axils of leaves. The sepals are yellow and the petals pinkish. The fruit are round and hairy. They have 4 deep lobes. They are brown to black. They are 5-8 mm across.

There are about 200 Grewia species. They are mostly tropical. The fruit of most may be edible. These were in the Sparrmanniaceae and the Tiliaceae.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. In Kenya it grows up to 1600 m altitude. It grows on dry soils. It tends to be in drier regions. It grows in savannah woodland. It grows in the Sahel. It can re-grow after fire. It grows in areas with an annual rainfall between 200-800 mm. It can grow in arid places.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, East Africa, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mali, Middle East, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sahel, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Southern Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, West Africa, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

The flowers and ripe fruit are eaten. The flowers are dried and used in sauces. The ground bark is used for thickening soups. The leaves are eaten raw or cooked. The ashes of the root is used as cooking salt.

It is cultivated in Nigeria and Cameroon.

Edible parts

Leaves, flowers, bark, fruit, nectar, vegetable, root

How it is grown

Plants can be grown by seed.

The fruit are collected at the end of the rainy season.

Its other names

Local names

Awala, Basham, Betere mussie, Daiyta, Debi-ad, Dhebi, Ebusheni, Eparis, Epat, Ged-mured, Harroresssa, Kawat, Lomo, Mkolamakaa, Mkole, Mkoma, Moussannoum, Mpelemehe, Mussantiwamu, Nashem, Nogo nogo ba, Opobo, Ositeti, Pobo, Pogo, Qoriya, Sidiyot, Tema, Tsewayita, Umushamgumu, Yira

Synonyms

Grewia venusta Fresen.; Grewia trechocarpa Hochst.; Grewia pubescens P. Beauv.;