Grewia bicolor Juss.

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Bastard Brandy Bush
False Brandy Bush
White-leaved Grewia
False Brandy Bush
Two-coloured Grewia
White-leaved Raisin
White Raisin
Donkey Berry

In Omani studies: Miller & Morris (1988) wrote that: "G. bicolor is the largest of the Grewia in Dhofar, growing to a good height with a single trunk. It is to be found throughout the monsoon mountains, or by permanent water sources in the drier areas. It produces striking, bright yellow-orange flowers, and its large fruit grow in clusters (called in [J: odk] a ward also used to describe a large, swollen udder). The fruit are eaten unpeeled, either while still immature and green or when ripened and orangy-red. These fruit are called [J: akimor], and were formerly a significant food source. The leaves too are edible, and provided a nutritious and thirst-quenching nibble. They are also very mucilaginous, and once laden with moisture during or just after the monsoon rains, they were plucked for use as a washing 'soap'. The foliage of this species was in earlier years collected ... by goat herders as a special, nutritious fodder for their milking or sickly goats, and camels too appreciate the leaves. The wood, while not being considered good as firewood or for making charcoal, is supple and strong, and was used in the making of artifacts where such qualities were important, such as parts for the framework of the baby's cradle [J: feddet], or the 'sword' grasped firmly by boys while undergoing circumcision. The wood was not felt to be really strong enough for the manufacture of the ubiquitous walking sticks or fodder hooks, but was considered second only to the wood of the Olea [J: motin] in its suitability for the manufacture of the once vital weapon, the double-pointed throwing stick [J: ekit]. Crutches too could be made from a well developed, straight branch: a stave was cut, and a hole bored in the top; then a cross-piece was cau, and a hole bored right through it at the centre; this cross-piece was then fixed to the stave by a fire-hardened wedge [J: sendir] made from some wood known not to shatter under a blow - (such as the wood of Blepharis [J: ayzob] or Ormocarpum [J: xir] - which was hammered right through the hole of the cross-piece into the hole at the top of the shaped stave, making a sturdy crutch to support the weight of the patient". (Ref. Plants of Dhofar). In addition, Ghazanfar (2003) mentioned that: "The fruits are edible. The leaves have been used traditionally as washing soap in Dhofar". (Ref. Flora of Oman, vol. 1).

*Ghazanfar, S. (2003). Flora of the Sultanate of Oman, vol.1: Piperaceae – Primulaceae. Meise, National Botanic Garden of Belgium (Scripta Botanica Begica, Vol. 25). ISBN 90-72619-55-2 ISSN 0779-2387. *https://en.wikipedia.org * http://pza.sanbi.org *Miller, A., Morris, M. (1988). Plants of Dhofar, the Southern Region of Oman: Traditional, Economic, and Medicinal Uses. Published by Office of the Adviser for Conservation of the Environment, Diwan of Royal Court, Sultanate of Oman; ISBN 10: 0715708082 ISSN 13: 9780715708088. *Pickering, H. Patzelt, A. (2008). Field Guide to the Wild Plants of Oman. Kew publishing, Royal Botanic Garden, Kew. ISBN 9781842461778. *Pickering, H. Patzelt, A. (2008). Field Guide to the Wild Plants of Oman. Kew publishing, Royal Botanic Garden, Kew. ISBN 9781842461778.*POWO (2023). ""Plants of the World Online. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet; http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org