Boesmansgif
inHlungunyembe
iNtlungunyembe
Hardy, evergreen, medium to large upright shrub or small tree (up to 6 m), with brown, deeply fissured bark, opposite, hard, dark green, leathery leaves.
Clusters of white to pink-tinged, sweetly scented flowers (June–Oct).
Large, plum-coloured, berry-like fruits relished by birds.
Milky, poisonous sap.
Makes an attractive hedge, tolerant of sun or shade.
Grows well in containers.
Insects: Flowers attract insects, which serve as the main pollinators.
Wildlife: Fruits are eaten by birds and animals. The fruit pulp of ripe fruits is edible and sweetish-bitter, but unripe fruits and most other parts of the plant are highly toxic.
Sweetly scented, white-pink flowers attract pollinators.
Large, plum fruits are eaten by birds and mammals. Unripe fruit and seeds highly poisonous.
Seeds are mainly dispersed by mammals.
Fruits relished by birds.
Collect fruits when ripe, and remove pulp from the seeds.
Sow fresh seeds, as seeds do not store well. No pretreatment of the seeds is needed.
Semi-hardwood cuttings root reasonably well in spring (Sep–Oct).
Hunting: The milky sap was used as poison on arrow tips; all plant parts are highly poisonous except ripe fruit.
Medicinal: Used for snake, spider bites, worms, aches, colds, headache, abdominal pain, colds, measles, blood poisoning, syphilis, menstruation issues. (Using the plant for these indications will not reduce its toxicity – do not try use any parts of the plant now that it is known to be toxic).
The fruit pulp was used for jam.
Farming: Mammals seldom eat the plant so poisoning of livestock rare.
