Figure 1: An example of one of the Grewia species.

Figure 2: The wood of some of the Grewia species is excellent for making bows and arrows. The shafts can be formed and straightened when fresh and are a pleasure to work with. Feathers from game birds, vultures or large raptors can be used to fletch the shafts.

Figure 3: Making cordage from a Grewia shrub. 1. Peel off the bark. 2&3. Separate the inner from the outer bark. The wood can be used for arrow shafts or making other useful tools or implements. 4. The inner bark is plaited. 5. The final product – tough and strong.

Figure 4: The berries of the different Grewia species vary in size. Those in the photograph are unripe and still show a green colour.

Cleve Cheney discusses the properties and uses of the well-known raisin bush.

We can learn a lot about bushcraft by looking at how rural people live. Although rural areas are being modernised and many rural people are moving to urban areas in search of work, there are still isolated communities in far-flung regions of our country where people still depend heavily on the natural environment for resources. These people are a wealth of knowledge. Shrubs belonging to the raisin bush or Grewia family are particularly prized by bush dwellers as it provides a number of useful resources.

There are quite a number of species belonging to this genus. They differ somewhat in appearance, ranging in size from shrubs to small trees, but all are useful. They are characterised by serrated alternate leaves that are three-veined from the base, hairy, and often of two colours. See figure 1.

Tools and implements
The wood of the raisin bush is tough and springy, easy to work with and ideal for making bows and arrows. See figure 2. Some species such as Grewia flava (brandy bush) are more useful for this purpose than others because they produce long shoots with few side branches. Excellent arrow shafts can be made from the wood and with Kalahari Bushmen it is almost exclusively the wood of choice for making both bows and arrows. Bows made from the raisin bush have good memory retention but are limited in terms of draw weight so are intended primarily for short-range shooting. Because of the lack of kinetic energy and momentum from these bows, Bushmen rely on poisoned arrows to kill their larger prey. Smaller prey such as birds and hares can be killed with arrows without poison.

The tough branches of the raisin bush are also woven together to make traps. Thicker branches are used to make axe handles, assegai shafts and walking sticks.

Cordage
Almost all the different Grewia species have a stringy inner bark which is excellent for making cordage. Look for long branches and remove the bark, which comes off quite easily. You will see an outer woody layer and a white inner layer. Carefully peel these two layers apart. The outer layer can, in some species, be quite brittle and is not suitable for making cordage, but the inner layer is flexible and supple and excellent for plaiting cordage. See figure 3. Cordage of any required length and thickness can be made by splicing ends together and plaiting bundles of cords together. The cordage is very strong and can have multiple uses. The bark is also used for weaving baskets.

Food
The common name of this family – “raisin bush” – comes from the edible berries which vary in size from five to ten millimetres in diameter according to the species. See figure 4. Fruits are green to begin with but ripen to a yellowish orange to brown and in some species to almost purple. They can be eaten raw and have a pleasant, sweetish taste. There is not much flesh around the pip. The berries are fermented to produce an intoxicating drink. The dried berries of some Grewia species are ground down into a meal from which porridge is made. The berries contain about 30 to 100 grammes vitamin C, 64 per cent sugar and 4 per cent protein.

Medicinal properties
A root infusion of Grewia caffra (climbing raisin) is used to treat bladder ailments. The bruised bark of Grewia occidentalis (crossberry) is soaked in hot water and used as a wound dressing.

Use by wildlife
The leaves, young shoots and berries of the Grewia species are relished by a wide variety of game and birds and the raisin bush is thus a valuable browse plant to have on a reserve or game farm.