Syzygium guineense subsp. guineense

Syzygium guineense subsp. guineense, the bushveld waterberry, is a small tree with a drooping habit that reaches 10 m to 15 m in height (SA Tree List No. 557). The simple, opposite leaves are elliptic to oblong, pale green above and dull below. They often droop.

The white, sweetly scented flowers grow in large stem-tip heads. They have numerous, conspicuous, white stamens. The fruits are ellipsoid and fleshy, becoming purple when ripe. They are eaten by birds, monkeys and people.

The distribution is in the northeast of South Africa, in KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Limpopo. The bushveld waterberry is one of four subspecies of S. guineense, one of two growing naturally in South Africa. The other local one is subsp. barotsense found only in the far northeastern border area with Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The other two grow further north in Africa.

The habitat of subsp. guineense is riverine forests and open woodland, often near water. The habitat population of the subspecies is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Schmidt, et al, 2002; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).