Dovyalis caffra

Dovyalis caffra is a dioecious shrub or small, evergreen tree, usually 3-5 m in height with a many-branched crown. The smooth bark is grey on young branches, though fissured and flaky to corky on old branches and stems. Young branches are heavily armed with long (4-7 cm) spines, but the stem has few spines. The simple leaves occur in tight clusters on dwarf lateral branches and alternate on young shoots. Each leaf is obovate 2-5.5 cm by 0.5-3 cm with a rounded apex and tapering base on 5 mm-long petioles. The small creamish-green flowers occur in dense clusters. The male flowers are 3 mm long in dense clusters of five to 10, while the female flowers are solitary or occur in groups of up to three on stalks 4-10 mm long in the leaf axils. The fleshy fruit is almost spherical and up to 6 cm in diameter. The fruit skin turns from green to yellow-orange with a velvety surface when ripe. The pulp encloses about 12 hairy seeds in two circles.