Cape Mahogany (Trichilia dregeana)

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

Trichilia dregeana or commonly known as Cape Mahogany or Forest Natal Mahogany is a very large, tropical tree about 30 m in height and 100 cm in trunk diameter. The crown is dense and spreading. The trunk has small buttresses and covered with gray, smooth bark. The leaves are dark glossy green with 3-4 pairs of leaflets and a leaflet at the end. The flowers, large and creamy white, occur in leaf axils. The fruits are creamy brown capsules.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Fruit, Nuts/Seeds

Harvest Seasons: Early Summer, Fall, Late Summer

Flavor & Culinary Uses

sweet drink or sauce. — Fruit - raw or cooked.; It can be cooked and used as a vegetable, or crushed and made into a sweet drink or sauce.; Seed - boiled and eaten as a side dish.; The seedcoat contains toxins and must be removed before the seed is cooked.

Habitat & North American Range

The transition zone between forest-savannah mosaic and moist evergreen forest, mostly at elevations of 500 - 1,600 metres in the north of its range, but gradually descending to sea level in S. Africa. (Zone 10)