Antidesma venosum (100 seeds)

Antidesma venosum (100 seeds)

Family: Phyllanthaceae

Common names: Tasselberry, Voëlsitboom, Tosselbessie.

It is an evergreen to semi-deciduous tree or shrub from 0.55 up to 15 m tall, with a dense, roundish crown. Old stems are buff-grey in shade and pale grey in sunny habitats. Middle age branchlets are glabrous and brown to grey-brown with scattered pale grey lenticels. New twigs are very hairy, green becoming pale brown with age. Bark is channeled longitudinally, soft and very hairy, scattered with pale grey lenticels. Fruits are very small, almost oval, ±10 mm in length and 8 mm in diameter, with a soft exocarp and fleshy, edible mesocarp, pale yellow to blood-red, turning black when ripe. Fruiting time is in late summer to autumn.

Sowing instructions: Sow in seedling trays filled with a mixture of river sand and compost. The seeds should be covered with a thin layer of mixture (sand and compost) and kept moist in a warm place. Seeds usually germinate between 10 – 20 days, with a germination rate of 70 – 80%. The seedlings should be transplanted into nursery bags with sandy soil and compost when reaching the 3-leaf stage.

Locality: Dukuduku. Harvest: January 2025