The Leaves are oval and about 2½ inches long and 1½ inches broad with a short stalk. They are shiny on the upper surface, lighter beneath, and have palmate venation of a distinct type.
The Flowers, which appear in February, are in little clusters, and are green. Each is ¼ inch long and has 5 narrow sepals and a bell-shaped corolla of 5 lobes, whose mouth is closed by a ring of hairs. They are slightly perfumed.
The Fruits, which distinguish this species from the others, are large, yellow, round berries, some 4 or 5 inches in diameter, green when unripe, bright yellow and resembling an orange when ripe. The hard rind encloses a number of round flat seeds in a brownish, sweet, edible pulp. The seeds themselves are poisonous. The fruit is very slow in maturing and may be found on the tree for about six months in the year.
Uses.—The pulp of the fruit is eaten, the seeds being rejected as poisonous.
STRYCHNOS TRICLISIOIDES Baker.—Kokiya. LOGANIACEAE.
A small, erect tree, from 12-20 feet high, or more, with a girth of 1-2 feet. The branches are vertical, and do not spread, there being no crown as such. The stem may be free of branches for some 10 feet, or there may be more than one stem, forking near the base. It does not occur far north, and is particularly common on rocky soils in granite country. It is in form very dissimilar to the other well-known species, S. spinosa, and unlike it has no thorns. It can be determined by its flowers, fruits and leaves, which are all typical of the genus.
The Bark is smooth in all shades of pale greys and greens, with a powdery surface. The small scales leave light, concave scars like the Plane tree. The bark is so distinctive that when recognised, it will identify the tree alone. The slash is cream-coloured, with green edges.
The Wood is yellow, hard, coarse and stringy, difficult to plane, cracks when drying and weighs 55 lbs. a cubic foot. In transverse section the rings are indistinct, the pores large, closed and strung rather widely apart between or on the rays which are long, fine and wavy and close together, varying much in thickness.