Family: Salicaceae

Origin, Description & Uses
Dovyalis caffra, commonly known as kei apple or wild apricot, is native to southern Africa. This small, thorny tree produces bright yellow to orange fruits that are tart and edible, often used in jams, jellies, and preserves. The tree can grow up to 6 meters tall and has dense, spiny branches, making it useful as a living fence or barrier in its native range. Its evergreen foliage and showy fruits also give it some ornamental appeal in gardens and landscapes.

Risks & Threats
Although Dovyalis caffra is currently not known to be naturalized in the Hawaiian Islands, it possesses traits that are cause for concern. It produces abundant seeds that can disperse easily and grows aggressively in a variety of conditions, which could allow it to compete with native plants. Its potential impacts on native ecosystems are not fully known, but caution is warranted. For these reasons, it is recommended to choose a low-risk or native alternative for landscaping or edible plant purposes.

High Risk Traits:

• Grows in subtropical climates
  
• Elevation range exceeds 1000 m
  
• Naturalized in Australia and outside native range in Africa
  
• Regarded as a weed of unspecified impacts
  
• Possesses sharp, long stem spines in the leaf axils
  
• Allelopathic
  
• Tolerates light shade
  
• Tolerates many soil types
  
• Seeds dispersed by birds and fruit-eating mammals
  
• Becomes reproductively mature in 3+ years
  
• Tolerates heavy pruning

Low Risk Traits:

• Despite spines, foliage is palatable to browsing animals and is used as fodder
  
• Fruit edible to animals and people
  
• Used as a living fence and barrier plant
  
• Trees typically dioecious (although monoecious trees sometimes occur)
  
• Seeds are recalcitrant and will not persist in the soil