1811. 
KUKUMAKRANKI. 
55 
It produces plentifully, in all seasons of the year, a fruit of the size 
of a small fig, of a very pleasant acid taste, when perfectly ripe. It 
must, however, be first divested of the outside pulp or coat, which is 
at all times saltish ; and even the fruit, when unripe, has a disagreeably 
saline and austere taste. Its name was given by the first colonists, 
on account of its form bearing some little resemblance to a fig, and 
because it is every where eaten by the Hottentots. I have frequently 
seen it in the market ; but, by the Dutch, it is used only as a sweet- 
meat, in which state it still retains the same agreeable acidity. 
On Green Point, and on the Flats in the neighbourhood of 
Cape Town, grows a celebrated little plant*, which still preserves its 
original Hottentot name, being known by no other than that of 
Kukumakrdnki. It has a flower much resembling the common Col- 
chicums of our gardens, and has also a bulbous root, close to which is 
produced a long, yellow, soft fruit, of the length and size of a lady's 
finger, its top just appearing above ground. The taste of it is some- 
what pleasant, but its smell is delightful, having a perfumed odour of 
ripe fruit, for which it is chiefly valued. The children of Cape Town 
* Gethyllis ciliaris the fruit of which, and a longitudinal section, are represented 
by the above figures, of one-third of the natural size. 
