Dovyalis zeyheri leaves

The leaves of Dovyalis zeyheri are alternate or clustered on short, lateral spur-branchlets. Leaf shape is obovate to broadly elliptic, the tip rounded, the base tapering to the short petiole that becomes up to 8 mm long. The leaf margin may be scalloped, sometimes very little or not at all, as in the photo. Leaf dimensions are 2 cm to 6 cm by 1,8 cm to 3,5 cm.

Leaf texture is thin and glossy, with or without hairs on both surfaces, sometimes rough to the touch. Leaf colour is initially bright green, later dark green, the lower surface dull and paler. A few lateral veins ascend from the midrib, while three veins may emerge from the leaf base.

The greenish-yellow flowers are small, about 1 cm wide, growing solitary or in clusters of up to four from leaf axils. Flowering happens in spring and early summer.

The fruit is a bright orange, ovoid and fleshy berry of up to 2 cm long. It has a velvety surface and ripens from late spring to autumn. The flower calyx with lobed margin persists conspicuously at the fruit base. The fruit bearing two or three seeds is edible, usually sour, sometimes made into a jelly (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Schmidt, et al, 2002).