Pink tassel berry
Antidesma membranaceum
Family: Phyllanthaceae
What it is like
A shrub or small tree. It grows to 5 m high. Sometimes it is 13 m high. The bark is brown and rough. Young branches are covered with brown, velvety hairs. The leaves are oval and 13 cm long by 5.5 cm wide. They are dark green and velvety above and yellowish below. It tapers to a rounded base. The flowers are yellowish-green in slender catkins 10 cm long. The female flowers are less fluffy. The fruit are berry-like and 3 mm across. They are pinkish in colour. They are clustered on long hanging stalks about 10 cm long.
There are about 100-170 Antidesma species. It is also put in the family Euphorbiaceae. It is used in medicine.
Where it is found
A tropical plant. It grows at low altitudes in forests near rivers. It can be in palm groves. In Nigeria it has been recorded at 400 and 600 m above sea level.
Countries/locations it is found in
Africa, Angola, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Congo DR, Côte d'Ivoire, East Africa, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Southern Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, West Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe
How it is used for food
The fruit is eaten.
Edible parts
Fruit
How it is grown
Its other names
Local names
Baconcom, Fitidi, Itompo, Kifitidi, Manar-ule, Mziwaziwa, Quere, Shongi
Synonyms
Antidesma meiocarpum J. Leonard;