''Euclea racemosa'' (the sea guarrie or dune guarrie) is a small to medium-sized evergreen tree that is indigenous to the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

coast of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

from

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, as well as in

Comoros The Comoros,, ' officially the Union of the Comoros,; ar, الاتحاد القمري ' is an independent country made up of three islands in southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. It ...

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...

and

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

. ''Euclea racemosa'' has leathery foliage that can be exceptionally even and dense - making it an ideal plant for hedges. A

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

tree (male and female flowers on separate trees), it produces small white

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s, which are followed by red, purple and black

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

s that attract

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s.
The berries are used locally to make "Guarrie vinegar". The name guarrie appears to derive from the local Khoe language, in which it is spelled gwarri.

Pictures

File:Euclea racemosa - Sea Guarrie Tree - flowers 6.JPG, Detail of inflorescence. File:Euclea racemosa - Sea Guarrie Tree - berries 7.JPG, The characteristic multi-coloured berries of the Sea Guarrie tree. File:Euclea racemosa - Sea Guarrie Tree - berries 2.JPG, Detail of berries. File:Euclea racemosa - Dune Guarrie hedge - Cape Town 3.JPG, ''Euclea racemosa'' used for roadside hedging. File:Euclea racemosa - Sea Guarrie hedge - Cape Town 2.JPG, Rough ''Euclea racemosa'' hedging. Cape Town.

Classification

;subspecies # ''Euclea racemosa'' subsp. ''bernardii'' F.White -

Cape Province The Province of the Cape of Good Hope ( af, Provinsie Kaap die Goeie Hoop), commonly referred to as the Cape Province ( af, Kaapprovinsie) and colloquially as The Cape ( af, Die Kaap), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequen ...

# ''Euclea racemosa'' subsp. ''daphnoides'' (Hiern) F.White -

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

Eswatini Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...

Limpopo Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature is ...

# ''Euclea racemosa'' subsp. ''macrophylla'' (E.Mey. ex A.DC.) F.White -

# ''Euclea racemosa'' subsp. ''racemosa'' -

# ''Euclea racemosa'' subsp. ''schimperi'' (A.DC.) F.White - most of species range # ''Euclea racemosa'' subsp. ''sinuata'' F.White -

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

# ''Euclea racemosa'' subsp. ''zuluensis'' F.White -

References

racemosa Trees of Africa Flora of the Comoros Flora of Oman Flora of Yemen Plants described in 1774 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Dioecious plants {{Ebenaceae-stub