Bersama lucens, the dehisced capsules

When the fruit of a Bersama lucens tree splits open to release its seed, the remaining dry husks end up like this. The four-valved fruit produces up to four bright scarlet, spherical seeds, each nearly half enveloped in a fleshy, yellow-green, cup-shaped aril.

These seeds are eaten by vervet monkeys and some birds.

The compact, decorative tree grows well from seed and should be considered more widely as a garden plant (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Schmidt, et al, 2002; Van Wyk and Van Wyk, 1997; Pooley, 1993).