Scolopia mundii

Scolopia mundii, commonly called the red pear, is a small or medium-sized tree reaching heights from 3 m to 10 m, rarely as tall as 20 m (SA Tree List No. 496).

The leaves are ovate and shiny above, with tapering apices and rounded bases. The leaf margins are toothed. The midrib and lateral veins are prominent. The leaves are usually hairless, although in the case of some Eastern Cape specimens not. The flowers are small and greenish, growing in axillary heads during winter.

The fruit is red when ripe, nearly spherical and with a sharp tip. They have earned the tree the common name of red pear; the little pears often borne in great profusion.

The species occurs widely in southern Africa, found in all South African provinces apart from Gauteng and the Northern Cape, although concentrated in the east and the south.

The habitat is evergreen forests including coastal ones, forest margins and grassy mountain slopes. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century (Coates Palgrave, 2002; http://redlist.sanbi.org).