Food Plants International - Plant Fact Sheets Dovyalis abyssinica - Dovyalis (Abyssinian), African Gooseberry
Edible Portion: Fruit
A medium sized shrub. It grows up to 10 m tall. It has many branches. The trunk is up to 20 cm thick. Young branches can have spines. The bark is grey brown. There are many raised lenticels. The leaves are oval and slender. They are 2.5-9 cm long by 2-5 cm wide. The edges of the leaves can be wavy or jagged. Plants are separately male and female. Flowers are green. Male flowers are covered in soft hairs. They are in clusters in the axils of leaves. Female flowers occur singly. The fruit are small and orange. They are round and have pale dots. They are up to 2 cm across. The flesh is yellow. They are very acid and have a strong smell. The seeds are few and flat.