Bersama lucens fruit

A mature fruit of Bersama lucens, a nearly spherical, ridged, woody capsule, is about 2 cm in diameter. Its surface is dull green, wrinkled and velvety from a covering of short hairs. The persistent styles are visible upon the fruits in the photo.

The fruit grows upon a sturdy, hairy stalk, yellow-green in the photo; it may become 7 cm long.

There may be fruit on the tree from late spring to the end of the following winter. These fruits were seen in Kirstenbosch during April (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Schmidt, et al, 2002; Van Wyk and Van Wyk, 1997; Pooley, 1993).