Parinari capensis aka Parinari Capensis

Parinari capensis, known as sand apple, belongs to the Chrysobalanaceae family. This low, woody perennial grows in tropical and southern Africa. Its range reaches from Congo to Tanzania and South Africa. Records also include Gabon, Angola, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Botswana. Kew classes it as a subshrub of seasonally dry tropical regions. It is not native to Britain or Ireland.

The plant has a wide network of underground rhizomes. Its woody stems usually reach about 1 foot (0.3 m). Rare stems reach about 3.3 feet (1 m). These are wild descriptions, rather than a measured garden size range. New stems arise each year near the bases of older stems. They grow from buds in the leaf axils. Most stems die back when the growing season ends. Some survive and keep growing into the next year. The plant is deciduous, so it also sheds its leaves.

In the wild, it forms broad patches in open, treeless ground. It grows along the edges of dambos, which are seasonally wet areas. These sites include sandy soils with few nutrients. Some become waterlogged for part of the year. The plant also grows on Kalahari sands. It occurs in grassland that follows woodland loss through fire or cultivation. Cattle leave its patches ungrazed, according to the habitat account. This observation does not establish whether the plant is toxic.

People gather the fruit and seeds from wild plants for food. The oval fruit reaches about 0.1 feet (0.03 m) long. Its sweet outer flesh can taste dry and astringent. People eat it raw or cook it. Some bury it in sand before eating to improve its eating quality. They also dry the flesh into a soft cake. The juice serves as a drink or becomes a thick gruel. The fruit also provides material for beer. Crushed seed kernels serve as a relish.

The available account lists seed as a means of propagation. It gives no cultivation method or tested garden conditions. It also provides no hardiness rating or flowering season. No medicinal uses or other uses are recorded there. The source reports no known hazards, but supplies no safety testing. It gives no pest or disease details.