Abyssinian Gooseberry (Dovyalis abyssinica)

Family: Salicaceae | Edibility: Choice Edible (4/5)

Dovyalis abyssinica or commonly known as Abyssinian Gooseberry is an evergreen, dioecious, spiny shrub or small tree with a rounded crown. It reaches about 6-10 m in height with trunk diameter of about 20 cm. It can be found in highland forests in Eastern Africa. The leaves are oval and slender, with wavy or jagged edges. The edible fruit is small, round, and orange in colour. It has a thin, tender skin and a juicy flesh.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Fruit, Berries, Shoots, Roots/Tubers

Harvest Seasons: Early Summer, Fall, Late Summer, Spring, Winter

Flavor & Culinary Uses

flavour faintly suggestive of apricots. — Fruit - raw or cooked.; The fruit has a thin, tender skin and a juicy melting flesh with an aroma and flavour faintly suggestive of apricots.; When fully ripe it makes a very agreeable jelly.; The fruit is about 25mm in diameter.

Habitat & North American Range

Highland forest over 1,800 metres. Rain-forest to riparian forest and scrub; dry evergreen forest; sometimes in open wooded grassland; semi-evergreen or deciduous bushland; rocky limestone slopes; at elevations from 600 - 3,050 metres. (Zone 10)