Description

Star gooseberry known as the Otaheite gooseberry, Malay gooseberry, Tahitian gooseberry, country gooseberry, starberry, arbari, West India gooseberry, or simply gooseberry tree, is one of the trees with edible small yellow berries fruit in the Family Phyllanthaceae. Despite its name, the plant does not resemble the gooseberry, except for the acidity of its fruits. It tastes sour and tart.

Characteristics:

Star gooseberry is an intermediary between a shrub and tree, reaching 2 to 9 m (6½ to 30 ft) high. The tree's dense and bushy crown is composed of thickish, tough main branches, at the end of which are clusters of deciduous, greenish, 15-to-30-cm long branchlets. The branchlets bear alternate leaves that are ovate or lanceolate in form, with short petioles and pointed ends. The leaves are 2–7.5 cm long and thin, they are green and smooth on the upperside and blue-green on the underside. In general, the Otaheite gooseberry tree very much looks like the bilimbi tree.

Medicinal Uses:

The plant is reported to have many uses. Latex is credited with emetic and purgative activity, bark is used to treat bronchial catarrh and is a popular local treatment.