Food Plants International - Plant Fact Sheets Uapaca kirkiana - Sugar Plum

Edible parts: Fruit

A small tree. It grows 5-6 m high. It can be 13 m high. It has a rounded crown. The bark is dark grey and rough. The leaves are scattered or clustered at the tips of branches. They are oval and 11 cm long by 11 cm wide. They are thickly leathery. The upper surface is dark green and shiny. The lower surface has rust coloured woolly hairs. The male and female flowers are greenish-yellow. The fruit is round and rusty-yellow. They are 3-4 cm across. They are fleshy with a rather hard skin. The flesh is edible.

A tropical plant. It grows in the lowlands and the highlands. It occurs at medium altitudes in open woodland. It can be dominant on gravelly soils. It grows between 720-1,950 m above sea level. It grows in areas with an annual rainfall between 500-1,300 mm. It needs a temperature in the range 14°-29°C. It can grow in arid places. It grows in Miombo woodland in Africa.