Family: Ebenaceae
Common names: English: bladder-nut, Afrikaans: swartbas, Xhosa: umTenatane
SA Tree No: 611
The bladdernut is an evergreen shrub or small multi-stemmed tree with a straight trunk that branches low down to form a dense, round to pyramidal crown. Birds open the papery fruit covering as soon as it starts to turn red to get at the ripe, fleshy berries inside.
This attractive small tree can be found growing near the wild paths in the Indigenous gardens of Steenbok Nature Reserve.
IDENTIFYING TIPS FOR THIS TREE
Leaves
Shiny, leathery and dark green above, lighter below with a fringe of ginger hairs.
Flowers
Creamy, fragrant.
Young Bark
Yellow-green to pinkish covered by fine coppery hairs.
Aged Bark
Smooth and blackish grey.
Fruit
The berries are fleshy turning scarlet when ripe. The fruit is enclosed in a bladder-like capsules that dry to red and remain on the tree for many months after the fruit has fallen.