Editing Euclea divinorum

{| class="wikitable" style="float: right; width: 320px; margin-left: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 1em;"
! colspan="2" style="background: #e8e8e8;" | Magic guarri (''Euclea divinorum'')
|-
! Scientific name
| ''Euclea divinorum''
|-
! Genus
| [[Euclea]]
|-
! Family
| [[Ebenaceae]]
|-
! Order
| [[Ericales]]
|-
! Habit
| Evergreen shrub or small tree
|-
! Height
| Up to about 9 m
|-
! Flowering
| August–December
|-
! Fruit
| Purplish-black, fleshy, single-seeded; about 5–7 mm across
|-
! Sex expression
| Male and female plants are separate
|-
! Native setting
| Bushveld, thicket, thorn scrub, hillsides, riverbanks, woodland and brackish floodplains
|}

Magic guarri (''Euclea divinorum'') is an accepted species in the Ebenaceae family.<sup id="cite_ref-1">[[#cite_note-1|[1]]]</sup> It is an evergreen shrub or small tree that can reach about 9 m, with separate male and female plants and small purplish-black fruit.<sup id="cite_ref-2">[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup>

== Description ==

The species occurs in bushveld, thicket, thorn scrub, woodland, on hillsides and along riverbanks, including brackish floodplains. This range of settings describes a plant able to occupy both relatively open and more sheltered sites. It can also form root suckers, an important habit to allow for when choosing a planting position.<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup>

== Cultivation ==

=== Soil and water ===

Its native settings include hillsides, riverbanks and brackish floodplains as well as drier bushveld and thorn scrub. A practical starting point is a site that drains freely but does not dry sharply during establishment, with irrigation adjusted to the local soil and seasonal rainfall. This is a habitat-based cultivation inference rather than a fixed watering schedule; avoid treating floodplain occurrence as a requirement for permanently wet soil.<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup>

=== Sun and humidity ===

Bushveld, thorn scrub and woodland are all recorded settings, so bright sun to light shade is a reasonable starting exposure. Shelter young plants from drying wind while they establish, then assess growth and leaf condition before increasing exposure. This placement advice is an inference from the range of native habitats, not a measured shade or humidity threshold.<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup>

=== Seasonal changes ===

In the Southern African seasonal calendar, flowering is reported from August to December. Watch the plant most closely through this flowering period and maintain establishment moisture through the dry part of the local climate rather than using a calendar interval copied from another region. The species is described as fairly fast-growing and hardy in natural habitat, but that description does not establish a universal cold limit or equal performance in gardens.<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup>

== Propagation ==

Root suckering is recorded for ''Euclea divinorum''. Where a plant produces rooted basal shoots, keep the suckering habit in mind when spacing it and handle any intended separation as a vegetative propagation trial: separate only a shoot with its own roots, reduce leaf stress, and maintain even moisture while it re-establishes.<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup>

== Flowering, fruiting, and harvest ==

Male and female plants are separate, and flowers are reported from August to December in the Southern African calendar. Beetles and wasps visit the flowers. A planting intended for fruit should therefore retain plants of both sexes; this is a practical consequence of the species' sex expression, not a guarantee of fruit set.<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup>

The fruit is round, purplish-black, fleshy and single-seeded, about 5–7 mm across. These characters provide a useful harvest check when the fruit has developed its dark colour, but they do not establish a species-wide harvest date or bearing age.<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup>

== Fruit and uses ==

The fruit is described as edible but not very tasty. It has also been used for purple ink and in brewing beer.<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup> In a field study of wild edible plants in Burji District, Ethiopia, ''Euclea divinorum'' was included in local edible-plant knowledge and ranked low as a multipurpose plant; that localized result does not establish food safety, flavour quality or use across the species' full range.<sup id="cite_ref-3">[[#cite_note-3|[3]]]</sup>

An edible-use description is not a toxicity assessment or a recommended quantity. Do not infer a safe amount from the reported traditional uses.

== References ==
* <span id="cite_note-1"></span>[[#cite_ref-1|↑]] '''[1]''' [https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/match?name=Euclea%20divinorum GBIF species match: Euclea divinorum].

* <span id="cite_note-2"></span>[[#cite_ref-2|↑]] '''[2]''' [https://pza.sanbi.org/euclea-divinorum Euclea divinorum | PlantZAfrica].

* <span id="cite_note-3"></span>[[#cite_ref-3|↑]] '''[3]''' [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13002-016-0103-1 Ethnobotanical study of wild edible plants in Burji District, Segan Area Zone of Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region (SNNPR), Ethiopia].