Thaumatococcus daniellii, also known as miracle fruit, is a plant species from tropical Africa of the Marantaceae (arrowroot and prayer plant) family. It is a large, rhizomatous, flowering herb native to the rainforests of western Africa in Sierra Leone, southeast to Gabon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is also an introduced species in Australia and Singapore.

The species is relevant in nutritional studies (similarly to its many edible and useful relatives, including arrowroot, bananas, cannas, cardamom, gingers and turmeric), as it is known for being the natural source of thaumatin, an intensely-sweet protein. The protein is being tested in the creation of possible healthier sweeteners. When the fleshy part of the fruit is eaten, the thaumatin molecule binds to the tongue’s taste buds, triggering a “sweet” sensation that slowly builds, leaving a lingering aftertaste.

T. daniellii grows 3-4m (up to 13’) in height, and has large, banana-like leaves, growing up to 46 cm (1’) long. It bears pale, purple flowers and a soft fruit, containing shiny, black seeds. The fruit is covered in a fleshy, red aril, the part that contains thaumatin. In its native range, the plant has a number of uses besides flavoring; the sturdy leaf petioles are used as tools and building materials, the leaves are used to wrap food, and the leaves and seeds have a number of traditional medicinal uses.

Common names for this plant include katamfe or katempfe, uma in Igbo, ewe eran in Yoruba, Yoruba soft cane and African serendipity berry; the unrelated species Synsepalum dulcificum is more commonly known by the latter name.^{[citation needed]}

As part of an experiment by the Warsaw University of Life Sciences, a gene from T. daniellii was inserted into a cucumber plant to test for an increase in sweet flavor (or perceived sweetness) by humans.

Thaumatococcus daniellii is a rhizomatous, perennial herb, up to 3.5 m high. The ovate-elliptic leaves (up to 60 cm long and 40 cm wide) arise singly from each node of the rhizome. Inflorescences are single or simply branched spikes and emerge from the lowest node. The fruit is fleshy, trigonal in shape, and matures to a dark red-brown colour when fully ripe. At maturity each fruit contains three black, extremely hard seeds. The seeds are enveloped by a sticky thin, pale yellow basal aril, which contains the sweetening protein thaumatin.

Phytokemikal screening of Thaumatococcus Danielli

Phytochemical Observation Alkaloids Present Flavonoids Present Tannins Present Saponins Present Anthraquinones Present Anthocyanosides Present Cyanogenic glycosides Absent Cardiac glycosides Cardenolides and steroidal nucleus present