Timbuctoo caperbush
Capparis decidua

Family: Capparaceae

What it is like

A shrub or tree. It is deciduous. It grows 4 m tall. It is a spiny bush. The spines are in pairs and small and orange-yellow. The trunk is dark and furrowed. The small branches are green and make a dense network. They are often without leaves. The leaves are small and narrow and only on young shoots and fall off quickly. The flowers are brick-red and in clusters. They have long stamens. The flowers have 4 petals and a cup like bonnet. The fruit are the size of a grape. They have a waxy bloom.

There are about 250 Capparis species. There are about 50 Capparis species in tropical America.

Where it is found

It is a tropical plant. It grows best on flat alluvial plains. It is often in wastelands. It can tolerate heat, drought, fire, frost and salty and alkaline soils. It can survive with 100 mm of rain per year. It grows in the Sahel. In Ethiopia it grows from sea level to 1,200 m altitude. It can grow in arid places.

Countries/locations it is found in

Afghanistan, Africa, Arabia, Asia, Central Africa, Chad, East Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Guinea, Guinée, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Mediterranean, Middle East, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, North Africa, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Sahara, Sahel, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Socotra, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, West Africa, Yemen

How it is used for food

The ripe fruit are eaten raw. The skin is removed. The unripe fruit are dried and used as vegetables or pickled. Flower buds used as potherbs. They are also used in pickles. Floral nectar is also eaten. The roots when burned yield a vegetable salt. The bark is a famine food. The leaves are used as a green vegetable.

Fruit are sold in markets.

Edible parts

Leaves, fruit, flower buds, nectar, bark, spice

How it is grown

It can reproduce from root suckers.

In India fruit are available Feb to July.

Its other names

Local names

Ajuet, Chippuri, Dela, Delha, Dhalu, Gandman lakdi, Gudhapatra, Gumero, Injet, Jaba, Kair, Kareenh, Kareer, Karel, Karer, Kari, Karil, Karinha, Karir, Karira, Kariramu, Kartoli, Ker, Kera, Kerda, Kerro, Kira, Kirar, Kontir, Kreeta, Kureel, Kurrel, Laddu, Maluza, Namar, Pichu, Pinju, Sengam, Siwak, Sodad, Taint, Tountoub, Tumtum, Tundub

Synonyms

Capparis aphylla Hayne ex Roth.; Capparis decidua Pax; Capparis sodada R. Br. [Illegitimate); Sododa decidua Forsk.;