Searsia tomentosa ripe fruit

The Searsia tomentosa fruits seen here in small, stalked clusters below the upper leaves are ripe or nearly so. The juice in the fleshy outer layer around a hard, single seed has in some cases already dried out, the creamy skin turned slightly brownish and losing hairs to almost a dull shine. The fruits are slightly flattened, less than spherical. Fruits are only seen on the female trees from winter to summer.

The photo was taken during November in the Salmonsdam Nature Reserve (Venter, 2012; Coates Palgrave, 2002; Schmidt, et al, 2002; iNaturalist).