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Myrsine africana
Primulaceae FAMILY

Myrsine africana

Myrsine africana

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
3/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Shrub
GrowthSlow

Myrsine africana is a plant of the drier tropics and subtropics, where it is found at elevations up to 3,800 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 22 - 30°c, but can tolerate 5 - 35°c[1]. Plants can tolerate several degrees of short-lived frost if they are growing in a well drained soil in a position sheltered from drying winds[2]. The plant prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 600 - 800mm, but tolerates 450 - 1,000mm[1]. Succeeds in any well-drained fertile circum-neutral soil in full sun or semi-shade[2]. Requires a sunny position according to another report[3]. Dislikes shallow chalky soils[4]. Prefers a pH in the range 5 - 5.5, tolerating 4.5 - 6.5[1]. Plants are very slow-growing[4]. The leaves are aromatic[3]. A dioecious species, both male and female forms must be grown if seed is required[3].

Propagation

Seed - sow late winter or early spring in a warm greenhouse. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a semi-shaded position in the greenhouse for at least their first winter[5]. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 3 - 6cm long with a heel in individual pots, mid summer in a frame. Good percentage[5]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Myrsine+africana>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [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. [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. [3]Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. — Thomas. G. S. · Murray · 1992 · ISBN 0-7195-5043-2 ↩︎Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.
  4. [4]The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers — Brickell. C. · Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. · 1990 · ISBN 0-86318-386-7 ↩︎Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.
  5. [5]Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. — Sheat. W. G. · MacMillan and Co · 1948 · ISBN - ↩︎A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.
  6. [6]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.
  7. [7]A Manual of Indian Timbers. — Gamble. J. S. · Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh · 1972 · ISBN - ↩︎First written in the 19th century, but still a classic, giving a lot of information on the uses and habitats of Indian trees. Not for the casual reader.
  8. [8]Forest Flora of Chakrata, Dehra Dun and Saharanpur. — Gupta. B. L. · Forest Research Institute Press · 1945 · ISBN - ↩︎A good flora for the middle Himalayan forests, sparsly illustrated. Not really for the casual reader.
  9. [9]Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World. — Tanaka. T. & Nakao S. · Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo · 1976 · ISBN - ↩︎The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
  10. [10]Plants for Human Consumption. — Kunkel. G. · Koeltz Scientific Books · 1984 · ISBN 3874292169 ↩︎An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
  11. [11]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.
  12. [12]Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). — Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. · Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. · 1986 · ISBN - ↩︎Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.
  13. [13]Forest Flora of Srinagar. — Singh. Dr. G. and Kachroo. Prof. Dr. P. · Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh · 1976 · ISBN - ↩︎A good flora of the western Himalayas but poorly illustrated. Some information on plant uses.
  14. [14]Flora of Pakistan — http://www.efloras.org ↩︎As of 2006, there is not much information on habitats available, but it is being developed and promises to be an excellent resource.