Ehretia amoena fruit and fly

Ehretia amoena fruit start off green, becoming orange and red as they ripen. The globose berries are small, up to 8 mm in diameter, appearing in large clusters. Fruits may be seen on the branches at any time from late spring to early autumn.

These fruits photographed in January in the Kruger National Park are getting past ripe, ready to be eaten by insects like the fly surveying their promise as a meal. Birds, monkeys, baboons and children all eat them as well.

The veins are sunken on the upper leaf surface that is dull olive-green here, raised prominently on the lower one (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Schmidt, et al, 2002).