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Dobera glabra is an evergreen shrub or tree from the dry lands of the Horn of Africa and southern Arabia, growing up to about 10 m. It thrives in hot, arid conditions and needs little water once established.
Dobera glabra is an evergreen shrub or tree native to the Somali peninsula, Northeastern Kenya and Ethiopia as well as South Tihamah. In Somali speaking regions, it is widely known as Garas. In Ethiopia, it is found in Nechisar National Park and along the Sagan River in the Konso special woreda. It is also sparsely distributed in Afar Region where the tree is much known for its fruits. It is known to grow up to 10 m (33 ft).
It is well known to the local Konso people (who call it karsata) for growing new shoots, flowers, and seeds during dry weather. They use it as an indicator of potential famine and drought conditions. D. glabra produces edible fruits and the seed is considered a typical famine food. However, the fruits must be cooked for a long time (i.e. up to 24 hours), they have a bad smell, and excessive consumption causes stomach aches and other intestinal problems.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Dobera glabra by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
