Grewia villosa is a shrub, often scrambling and hardly exceeding 4 m in height. Leaves are fairly large, serrated and heart-shaped. It grows naturally, mainly in dry habitats. It is common in most of the semi-arid parts of Eastern Africa but may now be rare in parts of its natural distribution. It can be seen in Ein Gedi oasis in Israel, and in South Africa, where it is common. Its ripe copper-coloured fruits are eaten in East Africa.

Grewia villosa
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Malvales
Family:	Malvaceae
Genus:	Grewia
Species:	G. villosa
Binomial name
Grewia villosa Willd.
Synonyms[2]
Balmeda corylifolia Nocca Grewia chaunothamnus K.Schum. Grewia corylifolia A.Rich. Grewia echinulata Delile Grewia heynei Steud. Grewia micropetala Bertol. Grewia orbiculata G.Don [Illegitimate] Grewia villifera Sweet Grewia villosa B.Heyne ex Roth [Illegitimate] Grewia villosa var. glabrior K.Schum. Tridermia papillosa Raf.

Uses

The fruit of the Grewia villosa were eaten both while immature and green and also once they had ripened and hardened to a dark, reddish-brown. The bark was stripped off and crushed in water or chewed to a pulp which was used to wash the body as well as to clean the hair and disinfect the scalp [3]

See also

• List of Southern African indigenous trees

References

• Maundu, P. M. ; Ngugi, G. W. ; Kabuye, C. H. S., 1999. Traditional food plants of Kenya. Kenya Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge, National Museums of Kenya, 270 pages

External links

Wikispecies has information related to Grewia villosa.

• Grewia villosa, The Jerusalem botanic gardens
• Grewia villosa, Israel wild flowers

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