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Vangueria infausta
Rubiaceae FAMILY

Vangueria infausta

Vangueria infausta

Edibility
4/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Shrub
GrowthSlow

A tree of the subtropics to tropics, usually growing in areas with a distinct dry season at elevations up to 1,500 metres[1, 2]. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 17 - 28°c, though it can tolerate 12 - 36°c[2]. The plant is fairly frost-tolerant and is able to withstand temperatures down to -5°c when it is dormant, though even light frosts can damage the young growth[2]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall of 800 - 1,200mm, but tolerates 700 - 1,500mm[2]. Succeeds in full sun to light shade[2]. Succeeds in most soils so long as they are well drained[2]. Established plants are drought tolerant[2]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 7, tolerating 5 - 7.5[2]. A slow growing plant, usually increasing height by less than 50cm a year[3, 4].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe[3]. It can be stored for up to 12 months if dried properly[4]. Cuttings. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Vangueria+infausta>

Pollinators

Bees, Insects

References

  1. [1]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.
  2. [2]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.
  3. [3]PlantZAfrica.com — http://www.plantzafrica.com ↩︎An excellent site giving detailed descriptions and uses of many S. African plants.
  4. [4]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.
  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]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.
  7. [7]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.
  8. [8]Useful Plants of Nyasaland — Williamson J. · The Government Printer, Zomba, Nyasaland. · 1955 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎Brief details of the uses of almost 500 species of plants.
  9. [9]Gemsbok Bean and Kalahari Truffle — Leffers A. · Gamsberg MacMillan; Namibia. · 2003 · ISBN 99916-0-491-X ↩︎Details of the traditional uses of over 200 species of plants in northeastern Namibia. Written for the non-expert, there is usually at least one photograph with each plant entry.