Monkey orange

What it is

A monkey orange measures about 5–12 cm (2–4¾ in) across. The smooth shell changes from green to deep yellow or yellow-brown as it matures. Inside, many flat seeds sit tightly packed in edible flesh. The ripe pulp is the food; the seeds and unripe fruit are toxic.

Where it comes from

Strychnos spinosa grows across tropical Africa, in savannah woodland and along rivers. In southern Africa its range includes South Africa’s Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, northern Botswana and northern Namibia. It has also been grown for fruit in the Besor area of Israel’s Negev Desert. There, trees grown from seed give strikingly different fruit: some bitter and mouth-drying, others very sour, and a couple with excellent, tasty fruit.

How it's eaten where it grows

In Zimbabwe, this monkey orange and its relative Strychnos cocculoides flavour mutandabota, a maize porridge. Peanut butter or sugar can go into the thin porridge, which is eaten warm at breakfast. In Lower Gwelo, the pulp also goes into umcaba, a sorghum-based porridge.

In Marondera and Lower Gwelo, mahewu takes the fruit in another direction: a sweet-sour fermented cereal drink with fresh monkey orange pulp.

How it's grown

The plant is a thorny shrub or small tree, about 1–9 m (3–30 ft) tall. Its leaves turn yellow before falling in autumn. It prefers sandy ground and full sun, tolerates some shade and is sensitive to severe frost. New trees grow from seeds or shoots arising from the roots.

When and where you'll find it

In Marondera and Lower Gwelo, Zimbabwe, monkey oranges usually ripen from September to December. The local harvest includes both Strychnos spinosa and Strychnos cocculoides. Ripe pulp becomes breakfast porridge or mahewu, and monkey orange fruit is also sun-dried to preserve it beyond the fresh harvest.