Bird plum

What it is

The yellow, date-shaped fruit is up to 2 cm (0.8 in) long, with one or two flat seeds surrounded by sweet flesh. Mountain date and brown ivory are other names for its tree, Berchemia discolor. It is eaten fresh as a snack, and it dries well.

Where it comes from

Bird plum grows across eastern and southern Africa, including Ethiopia, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe, and also on Madagascar. It grows in open woodland and along river valleys at lower altitudes. Trees often grow on termite mounds, and the fruit is part of Zimbabwe’s wild-fruit market trade.

How it's eaten where it grows

In Zimbabwe, dried nyii pulp is ground and mixed with maize meal into a dough, then baked or steamed into bread. The fruit also flavours porridge and goes into beer.

For a cold drink, Sarah Lilford’s rosella, nyii and masau iced tea brings bird plum together with rosella, rooibos, tamarind, honey and dried masau fruit. The mixture is simmered, strained and cooled, then served over ice with mint.

How it's grown

A bird-plum tree reaches 3–20 m (10–66 ft), with a dense, rounded crown. It tolerates drought and grows best in well-drained soil, but frost and cold winds damage it. Fruit takes about four to five months to ripen after the flowers are fertilised.

Bees visit the small yellow-green flowers, which grow in loose clusters. The spreading branches make the tree useful for shade as well as fruit, and its leaves and fruit also feed livestock.

When and where you'll find it

In South Africa, the fruiting season usually runs from January to July. In Zimbabwe, drying keeps the fruit in roadside and market trade as late as November. Harare’s Mbare Musika has stalls devoted to local wild fruits; nyii reaches the market from collectors in Buhera.