Spanish tamarind

What it is

The fruit is Vangueria madagascariensis, a member of the Rubiaceae family. Each glossy, rounded fruit measures about 3–4.5 cm (1.2–1.8 in) long. The skin starts green and becomes yellow-brown at maturity. Inside, the edible part is the pulp around the woody seeds.

Where it comes from

Its home stretches across tropical and southern Africa, including Madagascar and the Comoros. It has also travelled to India, Bangladesh and parts of the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago.

On Réunion it has long grown beyond gardens. Trees stand beside dry footpaths, including the Chemin des Anglais, and in the grassy savannas of the west coast.

How it's eaten where it grows

On Réunion, people eat vavangue once it is ripe and brown. The pulp is the part to eat, and the four or five woody seeds are left behind. Beyond fresh eating, the fruit is also used to add flavour to beer.

How it's grown

The plant forms a much-branched shrub or small tree with smooth grey bark. Its fragrant flowers draw bees. On farms it is mostly tended as a partly cultivated fruit tree, with space cleared around it to let in the light it needs.

When and where you'll find it

Flowering comes in the rainy season, and the fruit ripens during the dry season, six to eight months after the flowers are fertilised, depending on the place. In Elabasia, in Sudan’s South Kordofan, kirker fruit was harvested in May 2019. On Réunion it grows along dry paths and in the grassy savannas of the west coast.