Carissa bispinosa green fruit

The edible fruit of Carissa bispinosa is ovoid in shape, fleshy and thin-skinned. In the photo it is still green, soon to turn bright red. The one- or two-seeded fruit becomes about 16 mm long and 5 mm in diameter. It may be seen on the plant from midsummer to the following spring.

In the photo the leaves are mucronate, i.e. small spiny points protrude from the leaf tips.

The fruits are eaten by people, monkeys and birds, while the leaves are browsed by game (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Van Wyk and Van Wyk, 1997; Pooley, 1993).