Dovyalis caffra
Dovyalis caffra
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
A plant mainly of the subtropics, succeeding at higher elevations in tropics, where it can be found at elevations up to 2,000 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 20 - 28°c, but can tolerate 10 - 35°c[1]. Mature plants can be killed by temperatures of -7°c or lower, but young growth can be severely damaged at -1°c[1]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 900 - 1,100mm, but tolerates 700 - 1,300mm[1]. Grows best in a fertile, humus-rich, well-drained soil[2]. Succeeds in full sun or light shade[3]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 6.5, tolerating 5 - 7[1]. Established plants are drought resistant[2]. Tolerant of sea breezes, salt spray and saline soils[3, 4]. Trees have a moderate growth rate of 60 cm/year. They respond well to pruning[3]. Plants begin bearing when about 4 - 5 years old from seed[2]. Dioecious - both male and female plants must be grown if fruit is required. One male is sufficient for about 30 female plants[2].
Propagation
Seed - no pre-treatment is required. If dried carefully and stored at 3°c, the seed can remain viable for several years[5]. Seeds are sown in flat seedling trays and covered with a layer of fine sand and kept moist. Under ideal conditions, germination occurs within 18 - 20 days. Seedlings transplant well[3, 5] Layering[2]. Graft or shield-bud desirable varieties on to seedling rootstocks[2]. Hardwood cuttings. The cut tips should be treated with root-stimulating hormones before planting out into river sand[3] Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Dovyalis+caffra>
Pollinators
Insects
References
- [1]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
- [2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
- [3]World Agroforesty Centre — http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ ↩︎An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.
- [4]Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants — http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 ↩︎Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
- [5]Seed Leaflets — Various · Forest & Landscape. Denmark · http://en.sl.life.ku.dk/Publikationer/Udgivelser/PopulaerPublikationer.aspx?katid={D28373CC-6EF3-4EF8-B097-6D83FABF209E}&serieid={9F1C3DB1-6E7B-4CF1-AF53-F480B0CB40EF}&sort=title ↩︎A series of leaflets, jointly produced by the University of Copenhagen and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, focussing on seed information for a number species, but also giving a lot of other information about each plant.
- [6]Brazilian Fruits and Cultivated Exotics — Lorenzi. H.; Bacher. L.; Lacerda. M.; Sartori. S. · Instituto Plantarum De Estudos Da Flora LTDA; Brazil. · 2000 · ISBN 85-867174-24-0 ↩︎A superb book, giving information on several hundred fruit species. Each entry has a brief description of the plant and its uses, accompanied by one to many excellent quality photographs of the fruits.
- [7]Flora Zambesiaca — http://apps.kew.org/efloras/fz/intro.html ↩︎An excellent online flora of plants from the Zambezi River basin. It lists a number of the plant uses as well as the habitats and botanical descriptions of the plants.
- [8]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
- [9]Plant Resources of Southeast Asia — http://proseanet.org/ ↩︎Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.