Grey-leaved cordia fruit

What it is

Cordia sinensis bears egg-shaped fruit up to 2 cm (0.8 in) long. Each sits in a little cup with a toothed rim and has a distinct point at the other end. The ripe fruit is bright orange to red, with sticky flesh inside.

The tree’s grey-green leaves feel rough to the touch. Small, fragrant cream flowers grow in clusters. In Kenya, the pulp is eaten while the fruit’s skin and seeds are discarded.

Where it comes from

Its range stretches from West Africa through the Middle East to India and Sri Lanka, and south to South Africa. It grows in dry-country river vegetation and open bushland, including sandy or rocky river beds. In Turkana it is edome; Swahili names include mkamasi and mnya mate.

How it's eaten where it grows

In Tanzania, children snack on the small fruits while herding animals, and the fruit goes into porridge in place of sugar.

In Turkana, fruit is gathered and pounded into a sticky mass, dried in the sun and kept in a wooden container called an eburr. In Kenya the pulp sometimes goes into a local beer, and in Turkana the fresh juice is drunk. The fresh snack and the stored provision are two ways to use the same sticky sweetness.

How it's grown

Grey-leaved cordia grows as a shrub or a tree with many branches, often drooping towards the ground. It sheds its leaves and can be raised from seedlings. It also regrows after cutting. Monkeys, baboons and birds eat the fruit and carry its seeds to new places.

When and where you'll find it

In Kenya, fruit is sold in Lodwar, Turkana. The usual fruiting windows are March in Kilifi, May–June in Kajiado and Kitui, and August–September in Garissa, Samburu, Turkana and Kajiado. Kajiado therefore has two usual windows in this local calendar. Fresh fruit and sun-dried pulp both belong to Turkana food traditions.