Searsia dentata in fruit

Nana-berry fruits are edible, although mainly used in times of famine. The fruits of many Searsia (previously Rhus) species are eaten. The genus is well-known and popular in southern Africa. 

The fruits and flowers of Searsia species are quite similar across the range of the genus. There is more variation among the foliage forms and sizes of the (karee) trees and (taaibos) shrubs within the genus. The Searsia fruit is a small fleshy drupe, often flattened and not opening when ripe. They grow in clusters of many fruits, providing enough volume on one mature tree to satisfy a harvester, although individually the fruit is small.

Regarding Searsia dentata, the attractively toothed leaf upper halves combined with the colourful fruits as shown here, should favour the future of this tree as a garden subject. It grows easily from seed or cuttings and the size is manageable in many gardens (Coates Palgrave, 2002).