Fresh and Delicious Carissa Congesta (Karvand) - Ready for Harvest
- Common name:
- Karvand Edible
- Regional name:
- Bengali - Bainchi, Gujarati - Karamadan, Kannada - Dakavali, Malayalam - Kalavu, Marathi - Karwand, Sanskrit - Avighna, Tamil - Kalakkay, Telugu - Kalivi, Hindi - Karonda
- Category:
-
Shrubs, Fruit Plants
- Family:
- Apocynaceae or Plumeria or Oleander family
- Light:
- Sun growing
- Water:
- Normal, Can tolerate less, Can tolerate more
- Primarily grown for:
- Fruit or Seed
- Flowering season:
- February, March
- Flower or Inflorescence color:
- White
- Foliage color:
- Green
- Plant Height or length:
- 4 to 6 meters
- Plant Spread or Width:
- 2 to 4 meters
- Plant Form:
- Irregular, Spreading
- Special Character:
-
- Indigenous (native to India)
- Fragrant flowers or leaves
- Good for making bonsai
- Good for screening
- Good for Hedges and Borders
- Good for Edges ie very small hedge or border
- Attracts birds
- Attracts butterflies
- Attracts bees
- Animals will not eat
- Thorny or Spiny
- Suitable for road median planting
- Hanging or weeping growth habit
- Good on seaside
- Generally available in India in quantities of:
- Over hundreds
-
Plant Description:
- - A very pretty medium to tall shrub 1.5 to 2 m.
- The plant is ornamental and has dark green leaves.
- White flowers are borne in bunches.
- The stems are smooth and hard.
- Plant can be quite hapazard in its growth habit. Careful pruning is required to contain it. The spines makes this difficult - but luckily this can be done every alternate year.
- Fruits 1-3cm oblong, purplish black they mature towards the end of summer.
- Most favorite wild edible fruit of the Sahyadri.
- Can be made into preserves and candied.
- Can be used as an ornamental too - see photo of hedge above.
-
Growing tips:
- - Usually not planted but that is no reason why its should not be.
- Good for large farms and farm houses.
- Does the best in full sunlight will also grow in semi shade but will not fruit as much.
- Any type of soil is fine though in its natural habitat it prefers slightly acidic soils.
- Grows very well in containers too. Choose a large one.