Shepherd’s tree, Caper bush, White-stemmed Boscia
Boscia albitrunca

Family: Capparaceae

What it is like

The appearance of the tree varies in different places. It is a tree. It can be 3-4.5 m tall. The trunk is long and clean. It is white. The crown is neat and dense. In other places the trunks may be dark the the leaves drooping. It can also be a low many stemmed shrub. The leaves are grey-green. They are hard when mature. They are usually 2.5-5 cm long and narrow. They taper at the base and have short thin stalks. The midrib is prominent under the leaf. Mostly the leaves grow in bunches of 4-5 together. The flowers are small and star shaped. They are yellow and have a sweet smell. They are usually on old wood and in the axils of leaves. The fruit is round and smooth. It is usually green then turns light brown. It is acrid and edible.

There are 37 Boscia species.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It tends to grow in hot places with low rainfall. It is hardy and drought resistant. It grows in places with a rainfall of less than 50 mm per year. It can tolerate frost. It grows between 5-1,850 m above sea level. It can grow in arid places. It is often on termite mounds.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Angola, Botswana, Central Africa, East Africa, Eswatini, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Southern Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

The fruit are eaten raw. They are also used for juice. The roots are boiled and made into syrup. The baked roots have been used for coffee. The dried crushed roots are used for porridge. Flower buds are pickled and used as capers. The seeds are edible. The leaves are eaten raw as a famine food.

It is a commonly used fruit in Mozambique.

Edible parts

Fruit, roots, seeds, flower buds, leaves, coffee

How it is grown

It grows easily from seed. Seeds are collected from ripe fruit off the tree and then dried in a shady place after all the flesh is removed. Seeds germinate in 7-14 days. Seedlings are then transplanted directly into open ground. It can also be grown from shoot or root cuttings. It can be cut back and will re-grow.

Trees grow quickly in moist soil.

Its other names

Local names

Chocutsi, Chuchutzu, Honeb, Ingwavuma-lensikati, Ingwavuma, Ingwayana, Isikhwelampisi, Isiname, Koramu, Kursan, Mahlope, Mehlopi, Mopipi, Mohlopi, Motlhapi, Motlopi, Motopi, Mudobe, Mudowe, Mugaragora, Mupama, Muthobi, Mutobi, Muvgombwe, Namaloa, Omungerere, Omunkunzi, Omutendereti, T'namee, Tshibuyana, Umbombwe, Umbomwe, Umgqomogqomo, Umhlope, Umphitsi, Umtopi, Umvithi, Witgat, Witstamboom

Synonyms

Capparis albitrunca Burch.; Boscia pechuellii Kuntze; Boscia puberula Pax.; Boscia transvaalensis Pestal.;