Grewia robusta crossberries

Grewia robusta, the Karoo crossberry, is here revealing the source of its common name by displaying four fruits arranged in the characteristic four-part pattern, albeit in different colours. The deeply four-lobed structure of the drupe leaves little doubt as to the number of seeds to be found inside.

These fruits are eaten by birds and browsed by game and stock. The photo was taken on the Oulap farm in the east of the Little Karoo during May (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Coates Palgrave, 2002; Van Wyk and Van Wyk, 1997).