Harpephyllum caffrum

A medium evergreen tree that originates from South Africa, where it is common on riverbanks and today in cities as well as lining streets due to its excellent properties. The tree is resistant to heatwaves and a wide variety of soil types, but it is not resistant to frost conditions. It does not require special watering, and it grows fast. In Israel, it is well-suited to the Negev area due to its ability to withstand heatwaves.

The tree’s trunk tends to grow relatively straight, and it will begin splitting at a relatively high height, where it creates a high, round and somewhat spreading canopy that casts significant amounts of shade. The tree is rich in greenery, and its green, glossy leaves bloom in shades of red. The tree’s white flowers are not significant and come in waves all year round. After flowering, female trees bear elongated, green plum-like fruits that ripen to red. The tree’s fruits, which grow year-round, are fleshy and make a significant mess. Note that even though the tree is dioecious, Israel has only female cultivars, some of which bear much fruit and others less. At the nursery, we do our best to develop cultivars with minimal fruits by grafting. We recommend using the tree in gardens, alongside roads and in groups and less as a tree that is suitable to line streets or walkways. The fruit is juicy, making a lot of mess, and can cause slippage. It attracts fruit bats and birds, which leads to further mess … When a male cultivar is found in Israel, we recommend planting only that on streets to avoid the nuisance of the fruits. These fruits are considered edible, and there was even an attempt in the Negev to commercialize the fruit (marketing it as “wild plums” or “sour plums”), but the attempt failed. It is customary in Africa to make jams from the sour fruits. It is often called the “African plum” in Israel.