Family:
Salicaceae Mirb.
Genus:
Dovyalis E.Mey. ex Arn.

Dovyalis caffra (Hook.f. & Harv.) Warb.

This species is accepted, and its native range is S. Tropical & S. Africa.

[FZ]

Flacourtiaceae, H. Wild. Flora Zambesiaca 1:1. 1960

Morphology General Habit
Shrub up to about 3.5 m. tall, glabrous in all its vegetative parts; branches smooth, grey and armed with stout spines up to about 6 cm. long.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves often fasciculate on short side-branches; lamina 2–5.5 x 0.5–2.7 cm., narrowly obovate, obovate or obovate-elliptic, apex rounded or retuse, cuneate or narrowly rounded and 3-nerved at the base, margins entire, slightly revolute, venation slightly raised on both sides and very laxly reticulate; petiole up to 5 mm. long.
sex Male
Male flowers densely fascicled in the axils or commonly on abbreviated side-shoots; pedicels 1–3 mm. long, puberulous; calyx with 5 lobes divided almost to the base, lobes c. 2.5 x 1.5 mm., narrowly ovate, apex acute, shortly pubescent on both sides; stamens c. 15; filaments c.5 mm. long; inter-staminal glands very minutely pubescent, at least at their apices.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Female flowers solitary on pedicels up to 8 mm. long; calyx lobes 5–8, slightly larger and wider than the males; annular disk undulately lobed, rather thick, minutely and sparsely puberulous or glabrous; ovary globose-ovoid, glabrous, with 5–8 divergent, puberulous styles c. 2.5 mm. long; stigmas somewhat spreading. Male flowers densely fascicled in the axils or commonly on abbreviated side-shoots; pedicels 1–3 mm. long, puberulous; calyx with 5 lobes divided almost to the base, lobes c. 2.5 x 1.5 mm., narrowly ovate, apex acute, shortly pubescent on both sides; stamens c. 15; filaments c.5 mm. long; inter-staminal glands very minutely pubescent, at least at their apices.
sex Female
Female flowers solitary on pedicels up to 8 mm. long; calyx lobes 5–8, slightly larger and wider than the males; annular disk undulately lobed, rather thick, minutely and sparsely puberulous or glabrous; ovary globose-ovoid, glabrous, with 5–8 divergent, puberulous styles c. 2.5 mm. long; stigmas somewhat spreading.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit fleshy, apricot-coloured, up to 4 cm. in diam., globose, glabrous, crowned with the persistent styles.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds c. 12, woolly.

Native to:

Cape Provinces, KwaZulu-Natal, Malawi, Mozambique, Northern Provinces, Swaziland, Zimbabwe

Introduced into:

Ethiopia, Marianas, New Caledonia, Rwanda, St.Helena

English
Kei Apple

Dovyalis caffra (Hook.f. & Harv.) Warb. appears in other Kew resources:

Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status Has image?
K000231242 syntype Yes
Melliss [48], South Africa K000231243 Yes

First published in H.G.A.Engler & K.A.E.Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenfam. 3(6a): 44 (1893)

Accepted by

  • Berendsohn, W.G., Gruber, A.K. & Monterrosa Salomón, J. (2009). Nova silva cusatlantica. Árboles nativos e introduciados de El Salvador. Parte 1: Angiospermae - Familias A a L Englera 29-1: 1-438.
  • Edwards, S., Tadesse, M., Demissew, S. & Hedberg, I. (eds.) (2000). Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea 2(1): 1-532. The National Herbarium, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia & The Department of Systematic Botany, Upps.
  • Exell, A.W. & Wild, H. (eds.) (1960). Flora Zambesiaca 1(1): 1-336. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Fosberg, F.R., Sachet, M.-H., Oliver, R. (1979). A geographical checklist of the Micronesian Dicotyledonae Micronesica; Journal of the College of Guam 15: 41-295.
  • Germishuizen, G. & Meyer, N.L. (eds.) (2003). Plants of Southern Africa an annotated checklist Strelitzia 14: 1-1231. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
  • Govaerts, R. (2000). World Checklist of Seed Plants Database in ACCESS D: 1-30141.
  • Killick, D.J.B. (1976). Flacourtiaceae (including Samydaceae) Flora of Southern Africa 22: 53-92. Botanical Research Institute, Department of Agriculture.
  • MacKee, H.S. (1994). Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie, ed. 2: 1-164. Museum national d'histoire naturelle, Paris.
  • Troupin, G. (ed.) (1983). Flora du Rwanda 2: 1-603. Musee Royal de l'Afrique Centrale.

Literature

Kew Backbone Distributions

  • Exell, A.W. & Wild, H. (eds.) (1960). Flora Zambesiaca 1(1): 1-336. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Fosberg, F.R., Sachet, M.-H., Oliver, R. (1979). A geographical checklist of the Micronesian Dicotyledonae Micronesica; Journal of the College of Guam 15: 41-295.
  • Germishuizen, G. & Meyer, N.L. (eds.) (2003). Plants of Southern Africa an annotated checklist Strelitzia 14: 1-1231. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
  • Killick, D.J.B. (1976). Flacourtiaceae (including Samydaceae) Flora of Southern Africa 22: 53-92. Botanical Research Institute, Department of Agriculture.
  • MacKee, H.S. (1994). Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie, ed. 2: 1-164. Museum national d'histoire naturelle, Paris.
  • Troupin, G. (ed.) (1983). Flora du Rwanda 2: 1-603. Musee Royal de l'Afrique Centrale.

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