Facts on South African Trees

South Africa is home to over 1 700 indigenous species of trees and shrubs

In the list below, we will explore some interesting facts on these special trees :

1. Vachellia xanthophloea ( Fever Tree ) are planted next to dams and streams on farms to control soil erosion, as a live fence or hedge and in ornamental planting for shade and shelter in amenity areas. It is a useful tree as it has medicinal bark, edible gum and the timber is used for boxwood, furniture and carving as it is hard and heavy.

2. The wood of Combretum apiculatum subsp. apiculatum ( Red BushWillow ) is very hard, making it resistant to both borers and termites. The bark is used for tanning leather. Medicinally, a decoction of the leaves has been used as a steam bath and as an enema to relieve stomach disorders. As treatment for conjunctivitis, an ash from the burnt stem is mixed with white clay and water and the resulting paste is spread over the face.

3. Buffalo Thorn, Ziziphus mucronata, Blink-blaar-wag-‘n-bietjie (the translation from Afrikaans would be “shiny-leaf wait-a-bit”), umLahlabantu (Zulu). This tree represents life as we know it as the young twigs are zigzagged, indicating that life is not straight forward. The tree has two thorn shapes, one straight and one hooked. The straight thorn indicates where we are going and the hooked where we have come from. Historically the Zulus planted a Buffalo Thorn on the grave of a deceased Chief as a symbol of where the Chief was buried thus the Zulu name umLahlabantu meaning “that which buries the Chief”. Even today a branch from the Buffalo Thorn is used to retrieve the spirit of a deceased person from the where he died.