Raisin-fruit keetia
Keetia venosa

Family: Rubiaceae

What it is like

A shrub or climber. It grows 2-7 m tall. The young branches can have rusty coloured hairs. The leaf blades are 5-14 cm long by 3-6 cm wide. They are narrowly oval and taper to the tip. There are 5-9 main pairs of side veins. There are 20-70 flowers in a group. These are made up of 4-5 flower parts. The fruit are 8-11 mm long by 11-15 mm wide. They are black when ripe.

Where it is found

It is a tropical plant. It grows in the understorey in evergreen forest. It also grows along rivers. It can be on Kalahari sand and termite mounds. It can grow on sandy soil. It grows between 50-1,525 m altitude.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Angola, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Congo, East Africa, Gabon, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Southern Africa, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Uganda, West Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

Edible parts

Fruit

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Kasebelele, Muhoto-hoto

Synonyms

Canthium barteri Hiern; Canthium dundusanense (De Wild.) Evrard; Canthium gueinzii sensu Hooper pro parte; Canthium sylvaticum Hiern; Canthium venosum (Oliv.) Hiern.; Canthium zanzibaricum sensu Hooper; Plectronia barteri (Hiern) De Wild.; Plectronia cuspido-stipulata K. Schum. ex Engler; Plectronia dundusanensis De Wild.; Plectronia myriantha K. Krause; Plectronia reygaerti De Wild.; Plectronia stipulata De Wild.; Plectronia vanderysti De Wild.; Plectronia venosa Oliv.;