Natal plum
Carissa macrocarpa · Apocynaceae · also known as Amatungulu, Natal plum, Big num-num, Noem-noem
A crimson, plum-shaped South African fruit with a sweet-tart, cranberry-strawberry flavor and soft red flesh — eaten fresh and made into a ruby jam. A thorny, salt-tolerant coastal hedge whose milky-sapped unripe fruit ripens into a genuine treat.
At a glance
- Taste
- Sweet-tart and juicy with a soft, deep-red flesh tasting of cranberry, strawberry, and plum; ripe fruit is pleasant fresh (a rarity for its genus), while unripe fruit weeps a harmless but off-putting white latex.
- Origin
- Coastal southern Africa (KwaZulu-Natal)
- Grown in
- South Africa, Mozambique, United States
- Peak season
- Summer, Autumn
Sensory & practical profile
Taste fingerprint
- Sweetness
- Tartness
- Aroma
- Juiciness
- Firmness
Approximate, at peak ripeness · 0–5
- Ripe when
- Fully crimson-to-scarlet and slightly soft, no longer weeping white latex; green fruit is unripe and latexy.
- How to eat
- Eat the fully ripe crimson fruit fresh (the tiny seeds are edible), or cook it into rosy, cranberry-like jam and jelly.
- Typical price
- Budget
Unlike its fiercely sour cousin the karonda, the Natal plum ripens genuinely sweet — but only the ripe fruit is safe to eat, as the rest of this thorny, salt-hardy hedge plant is full of toxic milky latex.
When it's in season, by region
| Region | Peak months |
|---|---|
| Africa | Nov–Apr (southern African summer) |
How to select & store
Picking a ripe one
Choose fully crimson-to-scarlet, slightly soft fruit that no longer weeps white latex; ripe fruit gives easily and smells sweet. Green fruit is unripe, latexy, and best avoided.
Storing it
A few days refrigerated once ripe — soft and perishable. Eaten fresh or made into jam and jelly, which keep well.
Practical uses
🍽️ Culinary
- Eaten fresh when fully ripe, a sweet-tart snack
- Natal plum jam and jelly — a rosy, cranberry-like preserve
- Sauces, pies, and syrups
- Added to fruit salads
🌿 Health & traditional
- The ripe fruit valued as a vitamin-C food; other plant parts contain toxic latex and are not eaten
🎎 Cultural
- Amatungulu is a cherished indigenous coastal fruit of KwaZulu-Natal
- A popular, thorny, salt- and drought-tolerant ornamental hedge worldwide (California, Florida)
Eating natal plum: what to know
What regular consumption looks like
Natal plum is a nutritious everyday fruit, best enjoyed as part of a varied diet. It is a good source of vitamin C (about 35 mg per 100 g), supporting immune function and helping the body absorb iron from plant foods. Its pigments and polyphenols are antioxidants that population studies associate with heart health, though that reflects overall diet rather than any single fruit.
Sensible amounts
A typical fruit serving is roughly a handful, one medium fruit, or about 80 g, and two or more varied fruit servings a day is a sensible everyday pattern.
Evidence & conditions
As a whole fruit, Natal plum contributes fibre, vitamins, and beneficial plant compounds, but it has not been shown to treat or prevent any specific condition — so it is best enjoyed as part of a healthy diet rather than as a remedy.
Natal plum: frequently asked questions
What does natal plum taste like?
Sweet-tart and juicy with a soft, deep-red flesh tasting of cranberry, strawberry, and plum; ripe fruit is pleasant fresh (a rarity for its genus), while unripe fruit weeps a harmless but off-putting white latex.
When is natal plum in season?
Natal plum is typically in season Africa (Nov–Apr (southern African summer)). Peak months shift between the northern and southern hemispheres.
How do you eat natal plum?
Eat the fully ripe crimson fruit fresh (the tiny seeds are edible), or cook it into rosy, cranberry-like jam and jelly.
How do you know when natal plum is ripe?
Fully crimson-to-scarlet and slightly soft, no longer weeping white latex; green fruit is unripe and latexy.
Is natal plum good for you?
Natal plum is a nutritious everyday fruit, best enjoyed as part of a varied diet. It is a good source of vitamin C (about 35 mg per 100 g), supporting immune function and helping the body absorb iron from plant foods. Its pigments and polyphenols are antioxidants that population studies associate with heart health, though that reflects overall diet rather than any single fruit.
How much natal plum should you eat?
A typical fruit serving is roughly a handful, one medium fruit, or about 80 g, and two or more varied fruit servings a day is a sensible everyday pattern.
The Natal plum is the sweet success story of its genus. Where its cousin the Indian karonda is fiercely sour and made mostly into pickles, this crimson, plum-shaped South African fruit — amatungulu in Zulu — ripens genuinely sweet-tart, tasting of cranberry, strawberry, and plum, and is a real fresh-eating treat.
Sweet, but only when ripe
There’s one rule, common to the milky-sapped Carissa family: eat only the fully ripe fruit. Unripe green Natal plums weep a white latex, and the rest of the plant is toxic — but the soft, deep-red ripe flesh (tiny edible seeds and all) is safe, sweet, and lovely, whether eaten fresh or cooked into a rosy, cranberry-like jam, jelly, sauce, or pie. The plant itself is a tough, thorny, salt- and drought-tolerant shrub, which has made it a hugely popular ornamental hedge far beyond its home — lining gardens and highways in California and Florida, where most passersby never realize the crimson fruit is delicious. A cherished coastal indigenous fruit of KwaZulu-Natal and a hardy global hedge, the Natal plum proves that even a genus known for sourness can produce something genuinely sweet.
