About Englerophytum magalismontanum (Sond.) T.D.Penn.
This tree is most commonly known by its Afrikaans name stamvrug, which translates to "stem fruit". The name refers to its growth habit of producing densely clustered fruit directly on the trunk and thicker branches, a trait called cauliflory that is common for plants in this family. The fruit of Englerophytum magalismontanum are tasty and sweet, with only a small amount of pink flesh. They are high in latex and have a leathery outer skin. The tree produces a single large, smooth, hard seed per fruit, and this seed is covered by a soft membrane. The tree's bisexual flowers are also densely crowded on the trunk and branches, and give off a strong scent similar to fermenting honey. Mature stamvrug trees vary widely in height: they can reach just 1 metre tall on exposed dip slopes with thin, limited soil, where frequent fire regularly stunts their growth. In the more sheltered conditions of kloofs (gorges), where water is abundant and soil is deep, they can grow up to around 15 metres tall. Mature trees have dense, rounded, leafy crowns that branch almost all the way to the base. Their leaves are clustered at the ends of branches, have a dense covering of golden-brown velvety hairs on their lower surface, and often have a whitish layer of plant hair on their upper surface.
