Common Name:

General Information

Capparis decidua is a deciduous, bushy shrub growing in dense tufts, 4 - 5 metres high, or occasionally a small tree with many green vine-like apparently leafless branches, hanging in bundles[]. The tree has very small leaves, and these only appear during the short rainy season[].
This is one of the important multipurpose tree species of desert and arid regions of the Indian subcontinent, Africa and Saudi Arabia[]. An extremely hardy species, it provides vegetative cover in dry, hot, sandy desert areas where little else grows[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Drier areas of northern and southern Africa to India.

Habitat

Desert areas in the tropics, where it sometimes constitutes lines of small trees in Wadi beds[]. Found at elevations from 300 - 1,200 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Shrub
Height	4.00 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of the arid tropics and subtropics, where it is found at elevations up to 1,200 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 30 - 42°c, but can tolerate 5 - 48°c[]. Mature plants can be killed by temperatures of -5°c or lower, but young growth can be badly damaged at -1°c[]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 300 - 600mm, but tolerates 150 - 750mm[].
Requires a sunny position[]. Succeeds in alkaline, sandy and gravelly soils, thriving on shallow, hard soils and rocky outcrops[]. Prefers a pH in the range 7 - 7.5, tolerating 6.5 - 8.5[]. The plant is tolerant of prolonged drought and is an interesting plant by reason of its excellent adaptation to arid conditions[].
Flowering occurs at the beginning of the dry season[].
Optimum yields of fruit are around 20 kilos per bush[].
The trees are amenable to coppicing[].
Plants have a life span of 40 - 50 years[].

Edible Uses

Both the ripe and unripe fruits are eaten[]. They can be made into a bitter-tasting pickle[]. The unripe fruit is cooked and eaten[].

Flower buds - cooked and eaten as a potherb, or pickled[].

Children enjoy sucking the nectar out of the flowers[].

The ash of the burnt roots is used as a salt[].

Medicinal

The very bitter roots are used in the Indian and Farsi pharmacopoeia[].

The root bark is used to cure swollen joints[].

Agroforestry Uses:

This is one of the best species for establishing shelter belts to check the movement of sand in the Thar desert of India[]. One of its preferred uses in the Sudan is as a shade and shelterbelt[].
As it is drought resistant and withstands neglect, this species could be particularly useful in arid areas as a live hedge providing edible fruits[].

Other Uses

The wood is very hard and used to make water pipes and water troughs[].
The wood is used for charcoal and firewood in its native range[].

Propagation

Seed -
Cuttings.

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