What are the morphological characteristics of Glossy Privet Fruit?
The morphological characteristics of Glossy Privet Fruit are: it is kidney-shaped, elliptical or obovate, with the base often bearing a persistent calyx and a residual fruit stalk. It is 0.5 cm to 0.8 cm long and 0.3 to 0.4 cm in diameter. The surface is blue-black, purple-brown or yellow-brown, wrinkled; the exocarp is thin, the mesocarp is relatively soft, and the endocarp is nearly woody and yellow-brown. Inside there is 1 seed, occasionally 2, kidney-shaped, red-brown, slightly pointed at both ends, with a nearly white, oily cross-section. The odor is slight, and the taste is sweet and slightly bitter-astringent. Those that are large, plump, purple-black and without fruit stalks are considered the best. The fruit that is kidney-shaped and purple-brown like a pig's kidney is commercially called Pig-Kidney Glossy Privet Fruit. The fruit that is elliptical and blue-black like fermented black beans is called Fermented-Black-Bean Glossy Privet Fruit.