Grewia flavescens

Grewia flavescens is a deciduous, densely branched and multi-stemmed shrub up to 4-5 meters.

The bark of Grewia flavescens is grey-brownish coloured.
The main stem of the shrub is 4-angled and deeply grooved.

The leaves of Grewia flavescens are simple and distichous-arranged on the twigs.
They are oblong-lanceolate, thick, stellate-tomentose and dark-green above and pale green coloured beneath. The leaves are 6-10 cm long and 2.5-3.5 cm wide with a short petiole (4-5 mm long). The apex is acute, the base is rounded to truncate and the margins are serrate.
The venation is reticulate with prominent nerves.

The flowers of Grewia flavescens are bright yellow, 1.5-2 cm across and they are grouped in axillary 3-flowered clusters (cymes).
The peduncle is about 5-6 mm long covered with long hairs.
The bracts are ovate, 4 cm long and 3 mm wide with an acute apex.
The calyx is composed of 5 sepals. They are linear, 1.5 cm long and 0.25 cm wide, bright yellow above and greenish stellate-tomentose beneath. They curve back when the flower is in full bloom.
The corolla is composed of 5 bright yellow petals, hairy only at the base. They are linear, 1.5 cm long and 2 mm wide with a bifid tip.
The yellow stamens are numerous with 8-12 mm long filiform filaments and tiny versatile anthers.
The ovary is globose and 2-celled. The style is 12 mm long with a trifid and pointed stigma.
The flower is fragrant.

The fruit of Grewia flavescens is a drupe, brown coloured when ripe.
This fruit is globose (sometimes 2-lobbed), about 1 cm across and stellate tomentose.
The epicarp (fruit-wall) is crustaceous and the mesocarp (pulp) is fibrous.
The fruit is 1- or 2-seeded.

The seed of Grewia flavescens is enclosed into a stone. The stone is globose, very hard, with an irregular surface. It is about 5 mm across and there is 1 stone per fruit.

The branches of Grewia flavescens are used for making baskets.

The fruit of Grewia flavescens is edible and tasty.

The fruit of Grewia flavescens contains remarkably high amounts of iron. (Nutritional composition of Grewia species fruits, G.O. Mohammed Elhassan and S.M. Yagi, 2010)
That supports the traditional use of the plant in the treatment of anemia.