South Africa’s newest forestSpecies of

plant@treesfortourism.co.za +27 (0) 84 571 5900

www.treesfortourism.co.za

The first 12’000 trees under the Trees for Tourism Project are planted outduring July 2011 in the reserve of farm 215 in the Overberg

under the auspices of Platbos Conservation Trust.

Trees of the 15 indigenous tree species of which pictures and short descriptions can be found on the following pages, will make up

the backbone of the newest indigenous forest of South Africa.

For more information about the Trees for Tourism Project,contact Helen Turnbull (see below for contact details).

Apodytes dimidiataWhite pear | Witpeer | Umdakane

Medium to large evergreen tree up to 25m. A profusely flowering tree : delicate and sweet-scented. Fruit is black-purple attached to a scarlet fleshy substance, the latterto attract birds. Used in the past for furniture and wagon-making. Not many large specimens are left. Leaves canbe eaten, boiled and mixed with porridge. The root bark isused against intestinal parasites.

Distribution : from the Western Cape to central AfricaFamily : Icacinaceae (White pear family)

Canthium mundianumRock Alder | Klipels

A small tree up to 5m occuring in coastal and inland forest, mostly as an understory tree or at the margins of the forest.In spite of its common name, it does not grow in rocky areas.“Klip” makes reference to the very hard nature of the wood, a subtleness which was lost in the translation into English.Fruits are edible and have the flavour of wild medlar.

Distribution : from the Western Cape to ZimbabweFamily : Rubiaceae (Coffee family)

Celtis africanaWhite stinkwood | Witstinkhout | Ndwandwazane

A large tree up to 40m. One of the few South African deciduoustrees. It will grow in dense forest or solitary. White stinkwood bears separate male and female (tiny and white) flowers.The fruit is a drupe, yellow at first, brown when ripe.The small and oval leaves are eaten by Bushbuck and Grysbuck.Baboons eat the ripe fruit as do many fruit eating birds, Goodtree for butterflies.

Distribution : from the Western Cape to ArabiaFamily : Ulmaceae (Elm family)

Very variable in size, but mostly 5-8m. Often found in the understory of the forest.Pock ironwood bears small white flowers. Its fruit is anoblong drupe with little flesh and a large stone, purplewhen ripe. Leaves are lance-shaped with nodules. Bark issmooth and grey.

Distribution: from the Western Cape to Zimbabwe andMozambique.Family : Oleaceae (Olive family)

Chionanthus foveolatusFine-leaved ironwood | Pock ironwoodFynblaarysterhout | Pokysterhout

Cunonia capensisRed Alder | Rooiels

Up to 30m. Occurs on streambanks and in moist forest.Pinnate leaves with dark green, glossy, toothed leaflets.Handsome cream and scented flowers which stand uplike pairs of candles. The Red alder is one of the stapletrees of the riverine forest remnants in the Overberg.

Distribution : from the Western Cape to MozambiqueFamily : Cunoniaceae (Wild alder family)

Medium to large tree up to 20m. The leaves are glossy, strongly toothed (hence the name ”dentata”), oblong with apointed tip and growing in pairs. Prominent brown veins showon the undersurface of the leaf. Its fruit is a drupe withflattened top, red when mature and edible, but bitter in taste.Origin of common name : the shape of the leaf looks like anassegai; The wood has never been used to make any assegai.

Distribution : from the Western Cape to Mozambique.Family : Cornaceae (Dogwood family)

Curtisia dentataAssegai tree | Assegaai | Assegaaiboom(hout)

Diospyros whyteanaBladdernut | Blackbark | Bostolbos | Swartbas |Umanzimane

Small tree up to 15 m with glossy darkgreen foliage and whiteflowers. Its fruit is a cherry-red berry within a casket, which is papery when the fruit is ripe. The (edible) seed has been usedas a coffee substitute, one of its old common names is “Wild coffee”. Leaves browsed by Klipsringer and Grysbok. The tree is popular with fruit-eating birds.

Distribution : from the Western Cape to Ethiopia.Family : Ebenaceae (Ebony family)

Halleria lucidaTree fuchsia | White olive | Notsung | WitolyfWilde kersies | Kinderbessie | iliMinza

Mostly small -multi-stemmed- understory tree, but can growup to 30m in forest. Prefers the forest edge. The commonnames White olive and Tree fuchsia have no botanicaljustification. Striking orange-red tubular flowers whichare visited for its nectar by sugar birds and bees.The fruit, a berry, is eaten by fruit-eatingbirds, but also bypeople and can be stored for a long time.

Distribution : from the Western Cape to EthiopiaFamily : Scrophulariaceae (Snapdragon family)

Ilex MitisAfrican holly | Cape holly | Water tree |Without | Waterboom | iPhuphuma

Up to 25m with a straight trunk. Always in or very near to water. A close relative of the European holly, but does not share its prickly leaf. Male and female trees. A mass of ediblescarlet berries, highly favoured by birds, is ripe in mid-winter.The African holly is an excellent natural water-managementtree, helping to save the water supply from drying up.

Distribution : from the Western Cape to EthiopiaFamily : Aquifoliaceae (Holly family)

Kiggelaria africanaWild peach | Wilde perske | iMunwe

Fast-growing medium sized tree. The leaves are medium greenabove and whitish green underneath but shape and textureof the leaf is very dependent on habitat. The red clear-wingbutterfly feeds upon the leaves. Hundreds of its caterpillarsmay be seen in season and sometimes completely defoliatethe tree. This multi-stemmed and re-coppicing tree producesan excellent fuel.

Distribution : from the Western Cape to Northern AfricaFamily : Flacourtiaceae (Wild peach family)

Olea africanaWild olive | Wilde Olyfboom | Olienhout | Umnquma

Small tree up to 10m and the ancestor of the domesticatedolive tree. The Wild olive is hardy and drought resistant andcan grow in practically all soil types. To make it more diseaseresistant, the domesticated olive is often grafted on to a wild olive tree. The fruit of the Wild olive is edible but it is said thatpeople would only eat them in times of famine. Traditionallythe leaves have been used for many medicinal purposes.

Distribution : from the Western Cape to Northern AfricaFamily : Oleaceae (Olive family)

Olinia ventosaHardpear | Hardepeer

Medium to large evergreen tree. One of the fastest growingof indigenous trees and a forest pioneer. Endemic to the Western and Eastern Cape of South Africa.Leaves are dark-green glossy but thin. Crushed leaves smellof almonds. Fruit a red drupe which is ripe midsummer, favoured by many birds. Platbos forest boasts some largeand ancient specimens.

Distribution : from the Western to the Eastern CapeFamily : Oliniaceae (Hardpear family)

Podocarpus latifoliusReal yellowwood | Broad-leaved yellowwoodOpregte geelhout | Umkhoba

A tall conifer with a straight trunk producing male and femaleinflorescense on separate trees, This yellowwood has beenstrongly harvested and was highly valued for beams, floors,tables and railway-sleepers. Ripe fruit (bright scarlet or purplish)eaten, but only when freshly picked.

Distribution : from the Western Cape to MozambiqueFamily : Podocarpaceae (Yellowwood family)

Rapanea melanophloeosCape Beech | Kaapse boekenhout | Beukenhout |isiCalabi

A tree up to 20m, preferring the edge of the forest where ithas room to spread its crown.Handsome, dark green foliage; leaves clustered at the end of the twigs. Small cream pink-tinged cream-coloured flowerswhich attract many insects. The fruit is a black-purple berrymuch sought after by birds.

Distribution : from the Western Cape to ZambiaFamily : Myrsinaceae (Myrsine family)

Sideroxylon inerme(White) milkwood |(Wit) melkhout | Jakhalsbessie

Small tree up to 10m, but can become ancient.Common in coastal forests, where it is found in a compact,wind-shaved mass. Milkwood flowers are cream in colour andtiny. The fruit is a berry, purple when ripe; edible in the sensethat it is not poisonous. Tough dark-green leaves, growing inpairs. It is called milkwood because of the milky juices in bark,leaves and fruits.

Distribution : from the Western Cape to Zimbabwe and Mozambique.Family : Sapotaceae (Milkwood familiy)

Suid-Kaapse Bosse en BomeF. Von BreitenbachDie Staatsdrukker, Pretoria, 1974

The information in this booklet has beensourced from the following publications :

Indigenous Trees of the Cape PeninsulaM. Whiting SpilhausJuta and Co. Limited, Cape Town, 1950

Edible wild plants of southern AfricaFrancis William Fox and Marion Norwood YoungDelta Books, Johannesburg, 1982

Indigenous Healing PlantsMargaret RobertsSouthern Books, 1990

Trees of Southern AfricaKeith Coates PalgraveStruik Publishers, Cape Town, 1977 - 2000

Field Guide to Trees of Southern AfricaBraam & Piet van WykStruik Publishers, Cape Town, 1997

Making the Most of Indigenous TreesFanie & Julye Ann VenterBriza publications, Pretoria, 1996

is an initiative of :

www.platbos.co.za www.serendipityafrica.co.za www.farm215.co.za