10 Pavetta gardeniifolia Seeds - Edible Fruit - Indigenous Shrub or Small Tree

Pavetta gardeniifolia commonly known as Christmas Bride's Bush or Christmas Bush in English and Kersbruidsbos in Afrikaans is usually a deciduous shrub of 3 m high x 2 m wide. Pavetta gardeniifolia may occasionally develop into a small tree up to 4 m high. The light brown bark is either smooth or slightly fissured. Leaves are scattered with dark dots (bacterial nodules). The plants flower from November to January (summer). Green pea-sized fruits ripen to shiny black from February to May (late summer to autumn).

The flowers lure a variety of insects, which become food for insect-eating birds like the southern boubou. The nectar is also popular with birds. The fleshy fruits entice crested and blackcollared barbets, blackeyed bulbuls and mousebirds-and possibly many others too. People and monkeys also eat the fruits.