Carissa tetramera

Carissa tetramera (100 seeds)

Family: Apocynaceae

Common names: Sand num-num.

Usually a multi-stemmed shrub up to 3 m tall. Bark pale grey, flaking; branches armed with opposite, forked slender spines up to 5 cm long; all parts with milky sap. Leaves opposite, elliptic, lanceolate, ovate to almost round, up to 6.5 cm long, shiny dark green above, sharply tipped at the apex, sometimes slightly velvety; margin entire. Flowers in terminal clusters or in the axils of the spines, white, often tinged pink, strongly scented; corolla 4-lobed. Fruit ellipsoid, c. 1 cm long, red to purple-black hen ripe, edible.

Sowing instructions: Sow seeds in summer in a well drained medium.

Locality: Ex Hort. Harvest: June 2023