Strychnos pungens (100 seeds)

Strychnos pungens. Small, deciduous to sometimes evergreen tree. Bark grey to brown, rough and flaking in to squares lower on older trunks, grey and smooth higher up and on younger trees; branches corky and with swollen nodes and conspicuous lenticels. Leaves opposite, 3-veined from (near) the base, narrowly elliptic, 3-8 cm long, rigid or leathery, hairless with a hard, spiny apical point; margin entire; petiole thick, up to 4 mm long. Inflorescences in tight, axillary clusters, c. 2 cm wide; flowers greenish-white, up to 9 mm long. Fruit up to 12 cm in diameter, with a hard, woody shell, bluish-green, yellow when ripe, edible but less tasty than of other species. Sowing : Sow seeds in summer in a well drained medium. Locality: Pietersburg. Harvest: August 2020