Grewia flavescens aka Sandpaper Raisin

Grewia flavescens is a woody plant that stays green year-round. It belongs to the mallow family, Malvaceae. Its native range spans tropical and southern Africa to India. In Africa, it grows from Mauritania east to Eritrea and Ethiopia. It also grows in Namibia, Botswana, South Africa and Mozambique. Farther east, its range runs through Arabia to India. Kew places it in the seasonally dry tropical zone.

It can be a shrub or a small, rounded tree. These forms can reach about 13 feet [4 metres] tall. It can also grow as a strong woody climber. In this form, it reaches about 13–23 feet [4–7 metres]. These heights come from reports of its forms. They do not give a proven range for garden plants. The plant can form thickets. Its stems have angles and grow in loops. With age, they thicken into rope-like lengths between trees. It keeps its leaves all year. The source gives no further leaf details.

Wild plants grow in disturbed bushland and on hillsides. They also grow in gullies and lowland forest. Other sites include clearings and the edges of forests. Hillsides where it grows often have stony ground. The account gives heights above sea level of about 2,625–3,940 feet [800–1,200 metres]. It gives no tested ways to grow the plant. Nor does it state how much cold it can bear. These wild sites alone cannot show its garden water or light needs. The text gives no flower traits or bloom season. It names no pests or diseases for this species.

The glossy fruits grow in groups of up to four. Each can measure about 0.03 feet [0.01 metres] across. Their skins are hard, and the flesh has little sweetness. People eat the fruit raw or cooked. They also dry it to keep for later use. The fruit can replace sugar in porridge, though not very sweet. The source lists leaves as safe to eat. It gives no way to prepare them. It reports no known hazards. This does not prove that every use is safe.

People gather this wild plant for food, medicine and wood. They use its hard wood for building poles and walking sticks. They also use it for woven doors, flexible rods and fuel. The source notes its value as medicine. Yet it gives few full details for this species. Its wider account of uses as medicine covers the genus. It does not concern this species alone.