Carissa Macrocarpa

This is really a subtropical plant, not a mediterranean 
one.  Its native habitat is the eastern coast of South 
Africa, in fact the coastal bush.  The climate there is 
humid and the plant grows up to about one and a half 
metres, and is very rambling and dense.  When I was a child 
we used to use planks to gain access to the inner areas   
of the thickets to pick the fruit, as they are very thorny.  
Contrary to the experience of some medit-planters,  the 
fruit in its own habitat is quite delicious, and is up 
to 6cm in length. I don't know if there are several species 
but I remember the fruits from some bushes were shorter
and plumper, and others long and skinny and a deeper crimson shade.
My ancient (c.1954) edition of 'Wild flowers of Natal' 
(by Mairn Hulme, published by Shuter and Shooter) lists 
only Carissa grandiflora.  
When they weren't quite ripe they exuded milk and made your 
mouth pucker up.  They were ripe in the summer holidays 
(December and January) and we often had a bowl of them on 
the sideboard in our beach house.  They make a delicious 
jelly but we seldom kept them long enough for that.  I now 
live in a Medit climate (Adelaide, South Australia) and I've 
seen them growing here in the botanic gardens and also in the 
Festival Theatre precincts.  They are small in comparison to 
the subropical plants, and the fruit is correspondingly small.  
The Zulu name is amatungulu, but I wouldn't know how to spell 
the Tamil name.   

Liz
 
  
Liz Runciman
3a The Crescent
Marryatville SA 5068
Australia tel: 61 8 8332 9035
fax 61 8 8331 9041
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