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Grewia mollis
Malvaceae FAMILY

Grewia mollis

Grewia mollis

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
3/5

Safety & Hazards

Some reports suggest that a high concentration of the stem bark in dietary exposure may cause some adverse effects, especially liver injury[1]

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Shrub
GrowthSlow

A plant of tropical regions, found in areas with an annual average rainfall of 600 - 1,400 mm, at low to medium elevations[2]. Grows on a range of soil types[2]. The plant is highly resistant to fire[2]. Germination in the wild often occurs after a bush fire followed by rains[2]. Trees respond to coppicing and pollarding[2].

Propagation

Seed - we have no specific information for this species but seed of this genus is generally best sown as soon as it is ripe. Stored seed has a hard seedcoat and may benefit from scarification before sowing in order to speed up and improve germination. This can usually be done by pouring a small amount of nearly boiling water on the seeds (being careful not to cook them!), allowing the mix to cool somewhat and then leaving it in a warm place to soak for 12 - 24 hours. Sow the seeds in situ or in a nursery seedbed or trays - do not allow the compost to become dry. Germination and early growth are usually quite quick. Cuttings - best taken with a heel. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Grewia+mollis>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Phytochemical and Pharmacological Properties of the Genus Grewia; A Review — Goyal P.K. · 2012 · ISBN 0975-1491 ↩︎
  2. [2]Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. — http://www.prota.org ↩︎An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
  3. [3]The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. — Burkil. H. M. · Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. · 1985 - 2004 ↩︎Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/
  4. [4]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  5. [5]Edible Wild Plants of Tanzania — Ruffo, C.K.: Birnie, A. & Tengnas, B. · Regional Land Management Unit; Nairobi. · 2002 · ISBN 9966-896-60-0 ↩︎A very well presented, simple guide to growing and utilizing wild food plants in Tanzania, with line drawings of each plant, a description, habitat and range, non-food as well as food uses, plus basic information on growing the plants.
  6. [6]Trees and Shrubs of the Sahel. Their Characteristics and Uses. — von Maydell H. · Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit; Germany · 1990 · ISBN 3-8236-1198-4 ↩︎A well-researched book, usually with more than one photograph of each species and good information on the plant and its uses.
  7. [7]Useful Plants of Ghana — Abbiw D.K. · The Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew, UK · 1990 · ISBN 1-85339-043-7 ↩︎The book is ordered by usage, rather than by plant. It makes it easier to look up individual uses, but rather difficult to collate all the uses of each species. Otherwise, a well-researched book.