Mystroxylon aethiopicum aka Bushveld Koobooberry

Mystroxylon aethiopicum is a shrub or tree. It belongs to the Celastraceae family. Its native range spans tropical and southern Africa. It also spans the western Indian Ocean. It grows in tropical lands with a dry season. Useful Tropical Plants treats its many forms as one species. Some forms once had their own species names. Forms that fall between them link the group together.

This woody plant keeps its leaves in most cases. Its crown is narrow, and its trunk is short. Branches often start at ground level. This gives some plants the shape of a shrub. Its reported height is about 7–39 feet [2–12 metres]. Rare trees reach about 66 feet [20 metres]. These are species heights, not a proven range for gardens. One source also gives a height of 26 feet [8 metres]. The accounts give no crown width. They do not describe the leaves in detail.

It grows in evergreen forests on lower mountain slopes. It also grows at forest edges and in Brachystegia woodland. Other sites include coastal woodland and savannah woodland. It grows from sea level to about 6,890 feet [2,100 metres]. Thus, it spans a broad range of native sites. Yet the source gives no guide to growing it. It does not state its light or water needs in gardens. Nor does it say how much frost it can bear. It gives no bloom dates or flower colour. None of the accounts name garden pests or diseases.

The fruit is a drupe, round to egg-shaped in form. It turns bright red to purplish red. Each fruit can reach about 0.07 feet [0.02 metres] across. People eat its sweet pulp raw. In Kenya, people also steep crumbled bark to make tea. People have long used this drink to treat stomach complaints. Useful Tropical Plants reports no known hazards. This does not prove that all plant parts are safe. Nor does it show that the plant is safe for pets.

People gather bark from wild plants for use in folk medicine. Markets in Madagascar sell it for this use. People also use crushed green leaves on sores. Reports list bark remedies for several other health complaints. These records show use, not proof that the treatments work. The bark also yields a brown dye. People use the wood for spoons, tool handles, and clubs. They also make furniture and huts with it. They burn the wood as fuel, too.