Sideroxylon canariensis

An evergreen tree with a leafy crown and very variable in size: adult specimens can measure from 3 to 15 m in height. The trunk is fairly straight and thick, usually surrounded by trunk or root shoots (suckers), and has rough, very cracked bark that is dark brownish grey in colour. The leaves are simple, alternate, somewhat leathery, elongated oblong or elliptical, 7-15 cm in length and 3-5 cm wide, and with an entire margin. They are paler on the underside, where there is a prominent ivory-yellow main vein, and they have whitish sap, or latex, that exudes when the stalk is cut. They are usually arranged very tightly in bunches at the ends of the branches and they can sometimes be confused with those of Pleiomeris canariensis, although the leaves of the bully tree have a more rounded tip. The white flowers sprout directly from the stem (cauliflory), either alone or grouped into clusters. After fertilisation, the stems fill with fleshy, ovoid fruit (drupes) that are less than 2 cm in length and which conserve a short, thin point at the tip. When ripe, they turn black with white splotches.