Grewia bicolor is a shrub or small tree in the mallow family, native to sub-Saharan Africa, Arabia and the Indian subcontinent, where it grows in seasonally dry areas. It is valued mainly as a dry-season forage plant, and as a garden plant it needs warmth, sun and well-drained soil.
Family
Malvaceae (Mallow family)
Grows as
Shrub
Light
Full sun
Water
Water deeply but infrequently, letting the soil dry between waterings; it tolerates drought once established.
Soil
Well-drained sandy or loamy soil; tolerates poor soil.
Temperature
18–35 °C; protect below 5 °C
How easy
Easy
Edible
Yes, some parts
Native range
Trop. & S. Africa, Arabian Pen., Indian Subcontinent
Climate
seasonally dry tropical
About
Grewia bicolor, called bastard brandy bush, false brandy bush, two-coloured grewia, white-leaved grewia, white-leaved raisin, white raisin and donkey berry (a name it shares with Grewia flavescens), is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae, native to sub-Saharan Africa, Yemen, Oman, and the Indian subcontinent. In Africa Grewia bicolor is one of the most important forages during the dry season, when all herbivores, wild and domestic, find it palatable. It is particularly enjoyed by giant eland (Taurotragus derbianus) and domestic goats (Capra aegagrus hircus). Caterpillars of Anaphe reticulata have been found to feed on the foliage.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Grewia bicolor 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.