Trees

Adenium multiflorum

Botanical name	Adenium multflorum (SA No 647,3)
Other names	Impala lily, impalalelie (Afrikaans); adenium obesum
Family	Apocynaceae
Dimensions	A thick-stemmed, sometimes multistemmed succulent shrub, deciduous (or semi-deciduous in warmer areas); around 1,5 m, occasionally double that height
Description of stem	A squat, succulent stem, tapering upwards with a smooth light grey surface
Description of leaves	Simple, alternate or spiralling, towards the end of the otherwise bare branches; fleshy, obovate, dark green, pale below, midrib prominent on the lower surface; apex rounded, margin entire
Description of flowers	Abundant white or pink flowers with bright pink borders at the outer edges of the petals, floral parts in fives, bisexual; distinctive vertical maroon stripes occur at the throat of the trumpet; some colour variations occur; a very striking sighting in its natural surroundings in winter when the abundance of flowers adorn the leafless stems
Description of seed/fruit	Paired, cylindrical, over 20 cm long, hairy, turning brown when mature; splits open to release more than 50 long thin seeds with hairy tufts at the ends
Description of roots	Thick underground stems
Variation	Several subspecies occur throughout Africa and Arabia; variations multiplied in cultivation; some writers separate A. multiflorum and A. obesum
Propagation and cultivation	Grown from seed or cuttings in spring, best in semi-arid conditions, high temperatures, full sun, well-drained sandy soil, watered in similar way as cacti; seedlings hve been reported to flower within a year
Tolerances	Can endure drought or periods of cold-induced dormancy
Uses	Popular in xeriscaping, as a container plant and succulent gardens in many parts of the world, e.g. the Far East and the USA; toxic sap, used to poison fish and arrow-heads for hunting; browsed by game, maybe kudu and baboons, sometimes by livestock although toxic for cattle and goats
Ecological rarity	Said to be not threatened in South Africa; it is on the Red Data lists of Swaziland, Zimbabwe and Zambia
Pests and diseases	Said to be plagued by some insects in cultivation
Other
Location	Savanna grassland in semi-tropical areas, sandy and rock areas
Distribution (SA provinces)	Mpumalanga, Limpopo
Country	South Africa, Swaziland, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Madagascar, Tanzania, Kenya and northwards up to some Middle Eastern countries, westward to Senegal
Information	Received from Johan Wentzel

Adenium multiflorum flower; Photographed by Ricky Mauer Adenium multiflorum Photographed by Ricky Mauer

Azima tetracantha

Botanical name	Azima tetracantha (SA No 622,1)
Other names	Needle-bush; speldedoring (Afrikaans); bee-sting bush
Family	Salvadoraceae
Dimensions	Scrambling, spiny shrub or small tree of about 5 m
Description of stem	Bark green on younger branches, turning brown, young twigs sometimes square in cross-section, hairy; characteristic whorls of four long straight spines occur along the length of branches at each of the leaf axils
Description of leaves	Oval to circular, opposite or nearly so, each pair at right angles to the previous and following one; light green, leathery and usually hairy; apex has a sharp tip, margin entire, tapering at both ends, short petiole
Description of flowers	Dioecious; light green or yellow, small flower clusters in axils; floral parts in fours; petals recurving, calyx bell-shaped
Description of seed/fruit	Round berry of 1 cm in diameter with a sharp apical tip; fleshy, light-coloured, containing one or two seeds; ripe from summer into the next winter;
Description of roots
Variation
Propagation and cultivation
Tolerances
Uses	Used for toothache and snakebite; browsed by cattle
Ecological rarity	Common
Pests and diseases
Other
Location	Bushveld and woodland, near rivers and termite mounds
Distribution (SA provinces)	Western Cape; Eastern Cape; Kwazulu-Natal; Mpumalanga
Country	South Africa; Namibia; Swaziland; Zimbabwe; Mozambique; Zambia; Malawi

Azima tetracantha berries; Photograhed by Johan Wentzel

Buddleja auriculata

Botanical name	Buddleja auriculata (SA No 636.5)
Other names	Weeping sagewood, treursalie (Afrikaans)
Family	Loganiaceae, the wild elder family OR Buddlejaceae(?)
Dimensions	A bushy shrub, occasionaly a small tree, 3 to 4 m
Description of stem	Light brown and rough; stringy
Description of leaves	Simple ovate to lanceolate leaves that often droop, dark green above, greyish white and hairy below; finely furrowed on top, distinctive netveining; margins toothed; evergreen
Description of flowers	Variable colouring from lilac, cream to yellow; scented
Description of seed/fruit	Small brown capsule
Description of roots
Variation
Propagation and cultivation	Common garden plant; easy to grow, commonly done from wood cuttings
Tolerances
Uses	Favoured garden plant, valued for attracting butterflies and other insects, thus becoming a feeding area for insect eating birds
Ecological rarity
Pests and diseases
Other
Location	Bushy forest areas
Distribution (SA provinces)	Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape
Country	South Africa; Lesotho; Swaziland; Zimbabwe; Mozambique

Buddleja auriculata - new leaves; Photographed by Johannes Vogel

Buddleja auriculata; Photographed by Johannes Vogel

Buddleja saligna

Botanical name	Buddleja saligna (SA No 636)
Other names	False olive; butterfly bush; chilianthus olearaceus; witolien (Afrikaans); mothlware (Tswana); ungqeba (Xhosa)
Family	Buddlejaceae (some records place it in Scrophulariaceae or Loganiaceae!)
Dimensions	Shrub or small to medium tree; slender, erect evergreen; 2 to 7 m; in the warm high rainfall areas it may reach 10 m
Description of stem	Brown, greyish brown; flaking, fissured; the young branchlets tend to be square
Description of leaves	Oblong or lanceolate, decussate; dark green above, grey, hairy below; netveining conspicuously raised and linked along the inside of the edges
Description of flowers	Abundant terminal and axillary heads of small, creamy-white, pleasantly scented flowerheads structured in three-flowered cymes; from August to January
Description of seed/fruit	Small, ovoid, hairy capsule, 2 mm in length, containing very small seeds
Description of roots
Variation
Propagation and cultivation	Grows easily from seed and cuttings; fast-growing
Tolerances	Hardy in the dry summer rainfall areas, frost resistant
Uses	Garden tree with spectacular spring flowers, an option for the smaller garden; used as a bonsai species; leaf decoctions used medicinally for coughs and colds, sometimes for thrush, sores and even diabetes and tuberculosis; the roots are sometimes used as a purgative by indigenous populations; the straight stems are good for fence posts and the wood is also used for smaller utensils
Ecological rarity	Common, robust spontaneous propagation in some areas as a pioneer tree
Pests and diseases
Other	Attracts insects and thus insect-eating birds
Location	Dry slopes in woodland, rocky outcrops, forest margins and ravines; it is often a pioneer for indigenous bush
Distribution	Western, Northern and Eastern Cape; Kwazulu-Natal; Free State; Gauteng; North West; Limpopo; Mpumalanga
Country	South Africa, Lesotho, Zimbabwe

Buddleja saligna; Photographed by Ricky Mauer

Carissa bispinosa

Botanical name	Carissa bispinosa
Other names	Num-num; noemnoem (Afrikaans)
Family	Apocynaceae
Dimensions	Shrub or small tree, may reach 4 m
Description of stem	Many-stemmed and branching, bark light grey, younger stems green; characteristically forked or doubly forked spines
Description of leaves	Ovate, leathery, dark green above, lighter below, glabrous, only central vein prominent, base round but variable, margin entire, rolled under
Description of flowers	White, occasionally slightly pink; tube of petals opening in overlapping positions; terminal clusters occurring in Spring
Description of seed/fruit	Red, ovoid, edible; 1,5 cm; May to October
Description of roots
Variation	Variations bispinosa and acuminata occurring with some intermediate forms
Propagation and cultivation
Tolerances
Uses	Garden plant, edible fruit, browsed by game
Ecological rarity	Common
Pests and diseases	Tends to get scale or fungus in shady areas
Other
Location	Dry woodland, coastal scrub and forest margins
Distribution (SA provinces)	Limpopo; Mpumalanga; Gauteng; Northwest; Free State; Kwazulu-Natal; Eastern Cape; Western Cape
Country	South Africa; Mozambique; Swaziland; Lesotho

Carissa bispinosa

Carissa bispinosa thorns

Trees

Adenium multiflorum

Azima tetracantha

Buddleja auriculata

Buddleja saligna

Carissa bispinosa

Off Canvas Menu