🌳 A South African shrub 🍒 An edible fruit

natal plum

9.6

A small red fruit from a South African shrub that tastes sweet when ripe

noun
/ˈneɪtəl plʌm/

South African

: ciruela natal

The natal plum has a sweet, cranberry-like flavor when fully ripe.

Examples

Birds are attracted to the bright red natal plum growing on the shrub outside our window.
I love the taste of natal plums in summer.
They planted a natal plum hedge along the garden path for both its fruit and flowers.
The natal plum tree thrives in warm climates.
Birds are attracted to the bright red natal plum growing on the shrub outside our window.
The natal plum has a sweet, cranberry-like flavor when fully ripe.
They planted a natal plum hedge along the garden path for both its fruit and flowers.

Synonyms

plum

vsnatal plum

50 1.0

A small round or oval fruit with smooth skin and one hard stone

is a specific South African scarlet shrub fruit rather than the general tree fruit

carissa plum

vsnatal plum

South African

9.9

A small edible red fruit like a plum that grows on a South African bush

is discussed more as a cultivated ornamental shrub fruit than a common tree fruit

Surface Forms

natal plum singular

natal plums plural

Morphology

natal + plum

Although 'plum' signals a fruit, the modifier 'natal' in this MWE is a toponym (from Natal, South Africa) rather than the common adjective meaning 'pertaining to birth', so the overall meaning (a specific South African shrub/fruit) cannot be derived from the literal senses of the parts. A B1 learner who knows only the constituent words would likely misinterpret it (e.g. as a fruit related to birth) and would not recover the correct botanical/place-based sense without prior exposure.

Etymology

Natal plum may be named for the Natal area in South Africa and for the word plum, which fits the fruit's round, red look. That's why natal plum today means 'the scarlet, edible fruit that grows on that shrub'.