[Bush Apple; Beletientien, Atama (Nigeria); Obeletientien, Beletete;
Heinsia crinita]
Native to Tropical Africa - Guinea east to Somalia and south to Angola, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, this plant can be a scrambling shrub in the jungles, or a small tree (up to 42 feet (13 meters)) in the forest understory. The yellow to red fruits are about 0.71 inches long and 0.55 inches diameter (18 x 14 mm). They are considered to have a pleasant flavor and are eaten locally, picked in the wild.
The plant is cultivated in the Delta region of Nigeria for its leaves. They are essential to the famous Banga Soup (Palm Fruit Soup), and are used both fresh and dried. Photo by Scamperdale distributed under license Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic.
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