Antidesma venosum fruit changing colour

The fruits of Antidesma venosum are seen in pendulous spikes of up to 12 cm in length. The small, almost spherical berries start off green, soon to become white, red and purplish black before drying and shrivelling. Ripe fruits are edible, so much so that the established Afrikaans common name for the tree is voëlsitboom (tree where birds sit) or just voëlsit (bird sits). Fruits are mainly seen during autumn, but longer seasons occur.

The tiny flowers of a voëlsit grow in drooping spikes. On the male trees they are yellowish green, on female ones reddish and less fluffy. The flowers of this tree are often mutilated by parasitising insects, transformed into conspicuous, sterile growths. The blooming season is midspring to midsummer.

The tree is browsed and some plant parts are used medicinally (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Van Wyk and Van Wyk, 1997).