This species is very near to Dichapetalum venenatum Engl. & Gilg., from which it is sometimes separable only with difficulty[].

Common Name:

General Information

Dichapetalum cymosum is a small shrub producing many erect, unbranched stems up to 40cm tall from a creeping, woody rootstock. The plant can form quite large, though not very dense, colonies[, , ].
The edible fruit is sometimes gathered from the wild for local use, though all other parts of the plant are highly toxic.

Known Hazards

The leaves and seeds contain alkaloids and are extremely poisonous to cattle[, ]. This plant is a common cause of cattle poisoning on the Kalahari Sands of southern Africa - at one time the poisonous principle was thought to be a cyanogenetic glucocide but it has now been proved to be fluoracetic acid[].
Handling the very young leaf is said to cause a tingling and burning sensation of the skin, an effect not found with the old leaf. Whether this is related to the reported presence of monofluoroacetate in this and other Dichapetalum species is not clear[].

Botanical References

Range

Africa - Kenya, Zambia, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, S. Africa.

Habitat

Plateau woodland; tree and shrub savannah; open grassy vegetation; in rocky and sandy soils; gregarious; at elevations up to 1,980 metres[]. Kalahari sands[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Habit	Shrub
Height	0.40 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Not known

Edible Uses

Fruit[]. The outer, fleshy layer of the fruit is considered to be edible, though all other parts of the plant are highly toxic[]. The bright yellow, or yellowish-orange, obovoid fruits are up to 40mm long and 25mm in diameter[].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -

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