Maerua apetala

Maerua apetala is a medium size deciduous tree, growing up to 10 m in height. 
It is slow growing.

The bark of Maerua apetala is white-grey in colour, finely smooth with fissures and wrinkles.

The leaves of Maerua apetala are foliolate with 3 (trifoliate) to 5 leaves.
The leaf arrangement is alternate. 
With age the leaflets vary a lot in shape: from thin to rounded shape. 
They are linear, oblong and lanceolate. 
They are 4 to 7 cm long and 1 to 2 cm wide. 
The leaf base is rounded, the margin entire and the apex acute to acuminate. 
The petiole is long up to 8 cm. 
The young leaves are bright green while the mature leaves are dark green.

The flowers of Maerua apetala have numerous exerted stamens (60 to 90 per flower) and no petals (as its name indicates). 
The stamens are cream-white while the gynophore and ovary are purple in colour. 
The flowers are borne in corymbs at the end of the branch. 
The size of the flower is between 1 to 3 cm. 
The flower is hermaphroditic. 
The strong fragrance comes from its large volume of nectar and abundant pollen. 
The anthers fall is happening shortly after the blooming.

The fruit of Maerua apetala is a glabrous berry.
 Initially green, it turns red then pale brown after 2 months of maturation. 
The fruit is oblong-ovoid, 1 to 3 cm in size, hanging on a drooping elongated gynophore. 
The fruit is indehiscent, which means it doesn't open spontaneously at maturity to release the seeds. 
Each fruit contains about 9 seeds in a sticky brown pulp.

The seeds of Maerua apetala are 6 mm across, oblong-ellipsoid in shape. 
They are about 9 in a fruit, embedded in a brown sticky pulp.