Carissa macrocarpa flower

The fragrant flowers of Carissa macrocarpa grow solitary or in few-flowered clusters at stem tips, and sometimes in the fork bases of spines.

The large, bisexual, white flowers have corolla tubes that are up to 1,4 cm long and hairy inside. The five spreading, oblong corolla lobes overlap each other at the base in an anticlockwise pattern. The fragrant flowers are about 3,5 cm in diameter, the calyces behind are small. The stamens are enclosed inside the tube, the ovary two-chambered. Flowering happens from midwinter through spring.

The fruit, an ovoid berry, is red and fleshy when ripe, about 5 cm long and 3,5 cm wide. The edible fruits, relished by people, monkeys and birds contain vitamin C, phosphorus and magnesium. Fruits are present on the bush during spring and up to midsummer (Pooley, et al, 2025; Coates Palgrave, 2002; Van Wyk and Van Wyk, 1997; iNaturalist; https://pza.sanbi.org).