Common Name: Doppruim

General Information

Doppruim is a long-lived, hardy, evergreen, small to medium sized tree with a dense, spreading crown; it can grow 2 - 8 metres tall[, ].
The tree is a popular traditional medicine and is also appreciated for its tasty fruit and decorative wood. It is gathered from the wild and used locally. The tree is sometimes also grown as an ornamental.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Eastern and southern Africa - Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, south to Namibia, Botswana and S. Africa.

Habitat

Bushveld, riverine thicket, wooded grassland and rocky outcrops in grassland as well as scrub veldt; it is often found on termite mounds[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	8.00 m
Growth Rate	Slow
Pollinators	Bees
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Found in a range of climates and zones from the subtropics to the tropics, it is well suited to cultivation in a wide variety of climatic conditions[].
Established plants can tolerate extended periods of drought[].
Under ideal conditions the tree can grow at a moderate rate but it can be slow-growing under dry and/or cold conditions[].
Plants do not have an aggressive root system[].
Trees can be pollarded[].

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw[, ]. Both unripe and ripe fruits are eaten - the unripe being sour whilst the ripe ones are sweeter[]. The red fruit is a tasty treat[, ]. A delicious and very juicy fruit with a tart flavour, it is used to make preserves, jelly, vinegar and an alcoholic drink[]. The round, furry green capsules are about 10mm across, they split open to reveal a bright, orange-red jelly (the aril) covering a shiny dark red-brown to black oval seed[].

Seed - raw[].

An edible oil is obtained from the seed[].

The bark is dried then pounded into a powder. This is used as a tea and also as an appetizer in soups[].

Medicinal

The tree has a long history of use in traditional medicine and is still commonly used today[].

The oil obtained from the seed is used as a purgative; a cure for ringworm; to restore hair[].

The leaves, bark and the oil extracted from the seed are used medicinally against baldness, ringworm, nosebleeds, chest complaints, eye infections, and venereal disease[].

The bark is cooked with soup to treat indigestion, stomach-ache and diarrhoea[]. Infusions of the bark are used by Kenyan Masai warriors to gain courage as well as an aphrodisiac and a blood-strengthening tonic[].

Other Uses

A fine oil is extracted from the seeds[].
A fragrant, non-drying, golden yellow oil is extracted from the roasted seeds[]. It is used as a lubricant and for making soap[]. There are reports of it being used for oiling rifles[].

Some research has reported that the leaves are very effective in killing snails[].

The heartwood is light brown with a reddish tint and is not clearly demarcated from the sapwood. The wood has a twisted grain; it is hard, tough, heavy and durable[, ]. The stems seldom attain significant girth and therefore do not yield much useable wood. It is, however, used to make sticks, poles, cattle yokes, furniture and kitchen utensils[].
The wood is a source of fuel[].

Propagation

Seed - should be collected from the ripe fruits[]. Remove the red flesh and sow immediately or store dry in an airtight container. Sow the seed in trays using a well-drained seedling mixture with some river sand added. The seed should be pressed into the medium and covered with approximately 5 mm of sand or seedling medium[]. Keep the trays in a warm and lightly shaded position until germination, which may take from 6 - 10 weeks under ideal conditions[]. The seedlings are best left in their trays until they are approximately 20 - 50 mm tall before planting out, taking care not to bruise or damage the young taproot[].

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