Zygophyllum microcarpum fleshy young fruit

The bulging five-winged fruit of Zygophyllum microcarpum is seen solitary at a stem tip where the flower had grown earlier. Its reddish, hairy stalk dilates in funnel-shape just below the fruit.

The winged nut contains a single seed, well hidden inside the elaborate fruit. The wings are broader (vertically) than the central seed-carrying part, protruding well above the central axis of the fruit. The lobes or wings have rough surfaces with a sparse covering of granular protrusions not looking like hairs. The wing margins are sharply angled and rough.

The green, yellow, orange and brown colour variations of the fruit display some translucence (Shearing and Van Heerden, 2008; iSpot).