Carissa spinarum near Hyderabad W IMG 7612

''Carissa'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of shrubs or small

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s native to tropical and subtropical regions 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 ...

, Australia and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

. Until recently about 100 species were listed, but most of them have been relegated to the status of synonyms or assigned to other genera, such as '' Acokanthera''.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref>

Description

Different species of ''Carissa'' grow as shrubs or trees, attaining respective heights of 2 to 10 m tall. They bear smooth, sharp

thorns Thorn(s) or The Thorn(s) may refer to: Botany * Thorns, spines, and prickles, sharp structures on plants * ''Crataegus monogyna'', or common hawthorn, a plant species Comics and literature * Rose and Thorn, the two personalities of two DC Com ...

that often are formidable; they are true botanical thorns, being modified branches, morphologically speaking. The thorns may be simple, as in ''

Carissa spinarum ''Carissa spinarum'', the conkerberry or bush plum, is a large shrub of the dogbane family (Apocynaceae), widely distributed in tropical regions of Africa, Southern Asia, Australia, and various islands of the Indian Ocean. It is most well known ...

'', dichotomously forked as in ''

Carissa bispinosa ''Carissa'' is a genus of shrubs or small trees native to tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Australia and Asia. Until recently about 100 species were listed, but most of them have been relegated to the status of synonyms or assigne ...

'', or dichotomously branched as in ''

Carissa macrocarpa ''Carissa macrocarpa'' is a shrub native to tropical and southern Africa. It is commonly known as the Natal plum and, in South Africa, the large num-num. In Zulu, as well as in the Bantu tribes of Uganda, it is called ''Amathungulu'' or ''umT ...

''. The leaves are a rich, glossy, waxy green, smooth, simple, entire and

elliptic In mathematics, an ellipse is a plane curve surrounding two focal points, such that for all points on the curve, the sum of the two distances to the focal points is a constant. It generalizes a circle, which is the special type of ellipse in ...

ovate Ovate may refer to: * Ovate (egg-shaped) leaves, tepals, or other botanical parts *Ovate, a type of prehistoric stone hand axe *Ovates, one of three ranks of membership in the Welsh Gorsedd *Vates In modern English, the nouns vates () and ova ...

or nearly

lanceolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular ...

. They are 2–8 cm long, partly depending on the species, and generally are thick and leathery. In suitable climates some species flower through most of the year. The flowers are nearly sessile, 1–5 cm diameter, with a five-lobed white or pink-tinged corolla. They may be solitary or borne in clusters in an

umbel In botany, an umbel is an inflorescence that consists of a number of short flower stalks (called pedicels) that spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs. The word was coined in botanical usage in the 1590s, from Latin ''umbella'' "p ...

corymb Corymb is a botanical term for an inflorescence with the flowers growing in such a fashion that the outermost are borne on longer pedicels than the inner, bringing all flowers up to a common level. A corymb has a flattish top with a superficial ...

.Dyer, R. Allen, The Genera of Southern African Flowering Plants”. , 1975 The flowers of some species some have a fragrance reminiscent of '' Gardenia'', which adds to their popularity as garden plants. The

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 ...

is a plum-like berry in the shape of a prolate spheroid, like that of a rugby ball. In colour they vary according to species. In some species they are red when ripe, whereas others turn a glossy purple-black. Typically they are 1.5–6 cm in length, and usually contain 1-4 flat brown seeds, but up to 16 in some species.

Fruit

The fruit of the carissa is an oblong berry which contains numerous small seeds. The green fruit is poisonous, sometimes dangerously so. The ripe fruit are edible, but may be fairly tart, though some species have fruity flavours with overtones of strawberry or

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...

. They are rich in Vitamin C, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus. The fruit of ''C. macrocarpa'' are especially relished and eaten raw or used to make jelly. Various birds eat ''Carissa'' fruit and distribute the seed. ''

Carissa carandas ''Carissa carandas'' is a species of flowering shrub in the family Apocynaceae. It produces berry-sized fruits that are commonly used as a condiment in Indian pickles and spices. It is a hardy, drought-tolerant plant that thrives well in a wide ra ...

'' is grown in several Asiatic countries for its fruit, which is variously used in cooking and in folk medicine (see article).

Horticulture

''Carissa'' species generally respond well to gardening and are valued in topiary and in forming strong, dense, decorative, thorny, flowering

hedge A hedge or hedgerow is a line of closely spaced shrubs and sometimes trees, planted and trained to form a barrier or to mark the boundary of an area, such as between neighbouring properties. Hedges that are used to separate a road from adjoin ...

s. Some sprawling varieties are useful as ground covers.Floridata page for ''Carissa macrocarpa''
/ref> ''Carissa'' species are grown from seed or cuttings and tolerate slight frost.

Species

The following species are recognised. # ''

'' (L.) Desf. ex Brenan - widespread in E + S Africa from Kenya to Cape Province # ''

Carissa boiviniana ''Carissa'' is a genus of shrubs or small trees native to tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Australia and Asia. Until recently about 100 species were listed, but most of them have been relegated to the status of synonyms or assigne ...

'' (Baill.) Leeuwenb. - Madagascar # ''

'' L. - India, Bangladesh; naturalized in S China, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Indochina, Java, Philippines, West Indies # ''

Carissa haematocarpa ''Carissa'' is a genus of shrubs or small trees native to tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Australia and Asia. Until recently about 100 species were listed, but most of them have been relegated to the status of synonyms or assigne ...

'' (Eckl.) A.DC. - Namibia, Cape Province of South Africa # ''

'' (Eckl.) A.DC. - Kenya + Zaire south to Cape Province; naturalized in S China, Ascension Island, Hawaii, Florida, Texas, Mexico, Central America, West Indies # ''

Carissa pichoniana ''Carissa'' is a genus of shrubs or small trees native to tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Australia and Asia. Until recently about 100 species were listed, but most of them have been relegated to the status of synonyms or assigne ...

'' Leeuwenb. - Madagascar # ''

'' L. - Africa, Arabian Peninsula, Indian Subcontinent, Indochina, New Guinea, New Caledonia, Australia # ''

Carissa tetramera ''Carissa tetramera'', the sand num-num, is a plant in the dogbane family Apocynaceae. The specific epithet ''tetramera'' means "four parts", referring to the flower. Description ''Carissa tetramera'' grows as a shrub up to tall. Its strong-sc ...

'' (Sacleux) Stapf - E + S Africa from Kenya to KwaZulu-Natal # ;Formerly included * ''

Acokanthera oblongifolia ''Acokanthera oblongifolia'' (commonly known as African wintersweet, dune poison bush, Hottentot's poison, poison arrow plant or wintersweet) is a plant in the family Apocynaceae. It grows as an evergreen shrub or small tree up to tall. Its frag ...

'' (Hochst.) Codd (as ''C. oblongifolia'' Hochst.) * '' Acokanthera schimperi'' (A.DC.) Benth. & Hook.f. ex Schweinf. (as ''C. schimperi'' A.DC.)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1470978 Apocynaceae genera Fruits originating in Africa Plants used in bonsai