Searsia pterota

Searsia pterota is one of the many shrubs and trees of the taaibos and karee genus found all over southern Africa. Its dark red brown fruits appear from near midautumn through winter.

Whereas Searsia genus fruits, the small, fleshy drupes growing in dense clusters, are generally avidly sought by hungry birds, this plant produces drupes looking similar but tasting differently. They contain pungent, resinous juice rendering them unpalatable, so they are not often eaten. It is possible, however, that seed dispersal for the species is still done by birds. Some generalist frugivores, possibly including bulbuls, starlings and white-eyes, may take the S. pterota drupes opportunistically. Another possibility is small rodents that may eat the ripe fruits that land on the ground.

The wide distribution and non-threatened state of the habitat population indicate that the seed dispersal work for the species is somehow done in nature. S. pterota bushes are found all along the southern coast and nearby inland parts of South Africa, also in the Kouga where the photo was taken (Euston-Brown and Kruger, 2023; Venter, 2012; Coates Palgrave, 2002; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist).