Edible portions: Fruit, Leaves - tea, Vegetable, Flowers
A small tree or shrub. It grows up to 3-8 m tall. It is often a shrub with many stems. The young branches are covered with soft hairs. The leaves are oval or sword shaped. They are smooth above and white below. The have fine teeth along the edges. The leaves are 1-8 cm long. The flowers are in bunches and are bright yellow. They have 5 narrow petals. The fruit are orange brown and 6 mm across. They are edible.
A tropical plant. It grows in lowlands and highlands. It grows in drier regions. It grows in the Sahel. The rainfall in these places is 400-900 mm each year. It is often on rocky slopes near the sea. In grows on calcareous soils. It grows at low and medium altitudes in South Africa. In East Africa it grows from sea level to 2,000 m altitude. It grows best between 800-1,800 m altitude. It can grow in arid places. It is often on termite mounds. It grows in Miombo woodland in Africa. It grows in the Sahara.