Natal Plum

Plant Characteristics

Habit		shrub

Cultivation

Features:	✓	flowers, fragrance, fruit
Flower features:	❀	white

Scientific Names

Carissa >

grandiflora >

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Read about Natal Plum in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Natal Plum, a handsome shrub (Carissa grandiflora, of the family Apocynaceae), originally from South Africa, is cultivated in southern Florida and southern California for ornament and for its scarlet edible fruits the size of a plum. It is considered one of the best hedge plants in South Africa, and is sometimes used for this purpose in the United States. See Carissa. The Natal plum is a large shrub, eventually attaining to 15 or 18 ft., much branched and spreading, and armed with stout bifurcate spines: foliage dense, glossy green in color; lvs. opposite, ovate-acute, mucronate, thick and leathery, 1-2 in. long: fls. star- shaped, fragrant, about 2 in. across and borne in small terminal cymes; calyx composed of 5 oblong-acute lobes about 1\8 in. long; corolla salverform, with a slander tube about ¾in. long and 5 oblong-ob ovate lobes twice the length of the tube and twisted to the left in bud; stamens 5, inserted upon the tube; style clavate; ovary superior, 2-celled, with several ovules in each cell. The plant blooms most abundantly in early spring, but produces a few scattering flowers throughout the year; their waxy texture and fragrance are suggestive of the jasmine. The fruits, most of which ripen in summer, are ovoid or elliptic in form, commonly 1 to 2 inches long, with a thin skin inclosing the firm granular reddish pulp toward the center of which are several thin papery almost circular seeds,—sometimes as many as twenty or more. The fruit is very attractive in appearance, but is not generally relished when eaten out of hand; its flavor suggests the raspberry or cranberry, and when stewed it yields a sauce which greatly resembles that made from the latter fruit. It is also used for jelly and preserves. It is not of commercial importance in the United States, but is frequently planted in gardens for ornament and fruit. It seems well adapted to cultivation in both Florida and California, withstanding several degrees of frost without injury, and being somewhat drought-resistant. Among seedlings, however, there is great variation in productiveness, so that vegetative means of propagation must be used to perpetuate good varieties. Firminger states that grafting on Carissa Carandas renders the species more productive. When used as a hedge-plant it withstands shearing admirably, but yields little fruit under these conditions. Its growth is compact and low, and it has the interesting habit of branching dichotomously. It succeeds on a variety of soils, from the lightest sand to heavy clay or adobe, and when left to itself will form a shapely attractive bush. Seeds are easily germinated by planting in pans of light sandy loam. They should be as fresh as possible and barely covered with soil. Cuttings, when planted directly after removal from the parent bush, do not root very readily, but a method has been discovered by Simmonds whereby nearly every one will grow: this consists in notching young branchlets while still attached to the plant, making a cut half way through the stem 3 or 4 inches from the tip; the branchlet is then bent downward and allowed to hang limply until the end of the second month, when a callus will have formed on the cut portion, and the cutting may be removed and placed in sand under a lath shade, requiring another month to strike roots. The plant is also easily propagated by layering, and it is not difficult to bud, using the common method of shield-budding, essentially the same as practised with the avocado. Late spring is the best time to do the work. Another species of Carissa in cultivation and which is sometimes confussd with C. grandiflora is C. bispinosa (C. arduina). This can be distinguished from C. grandiflora by the much smaller size of the flowers, which are only ½ inch broad, with the corolla-segments much shorter than the tube, and by the oblong-obtuse fruit which is only ½ inch in length and contains one or two instead of many seeds lanceolate in outline. Carissa Carandas, a species common in India, where it is known as karaunda, has also been introduced to this country. It is distinguished from the above two by the corolla-lobes being contorted to the right instead of to the left (as stated on page 664), by the oblong or elliptic-oblong leaves with rounded or obtuse tips, and by the spines being simple in place of bifurcate. Its fruits are ½ to 1 inch long, containing three or four seeds, and are much used in India for pickles and preserves. Carissa grandiflora, DC. Natal Plum. Spiny shrub: lvs. ovate-acute, tapering to the base: fls. large, white, fragrant, solitary and terminal, twisted to the right, heterogpnous: fr. red, 1-1½ in. long, resembling cranberries in flavor when cooked, and having a papery skin, milky juice and few small almost circular seeds. Sauce made from this fr. is almost indistinguishable in flavor from cranberry sauce, but the frs. ripen so irregularly, although almost continually, as to make the fr. suitable only for home-garden use unless handled on a large scale. Said to be the finest hedge plant in S. Afr. CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

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References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

External links

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