Cat'sTails (Hermbstaedtia fleckii)

Family Amaranthaceae

About 50cm in height and found throughout SA.

StrelitziaStrelitzia regina)

In South Africa we have two species of Strelitzia growing. The first is one found in many other countries too and is also called "The bird of Paradise." It is a very slow grower and when first planted, takes a few years for the first blooms to appear. On average, it get to be about 3/4 feet in height and are propagated through breaking off shoots at the bottom with roots on. This flower is also found on one of our coins.
The second species grows to a height of 15-20 feet and is sometimes called the Giant Strelitzia with flowers about 4 times the size of the normal one.

Hairy Star Flower (Hypoxis hemerocallidea)

Family Hypoxidaceae

This is also known as the “African potato” but is not edible as such and is actually poisonous.

 It contains anti-cancer properties and used in traditional medicine for treatment of prostate cancer, tuberculosis, bladder disorders and arthritis. While it contains sterols that are good for the immune system, they are also found in many fruits and vegetables.

 Small amounts of the juice can be applied to burns and a black dye extracted from the leaves is used to darken floors.

 It is a smallish plant growing maybe 40mm (13”) in height and found in grasslands.

Large-fruited Bushwillow (Combretum zeyheri)

The Large-fruited Bushwillow (Combretum Zeyheri) is a large tree growing to 10m in height.

 This tree is said to indicate “sour bushveld” carrying poor grasses which are not usually palatable to stock and game.

 The Afrikaans name Raasblaar is based on the sound made by the leaves and fruits in the wind and translated means “noisy leaf”.

 Many animals feed off the leaves and fruit including giraffe, elephant and various buck species.

 The roots are fibrous and woven into baskets and fishing traps. The crushed leaves combined with oil are used as an embrocation to ease backache and when mixed with water provide eye lotion.

 The roots, together with other ingredients are regarded as a remedy for nose-bleedig and when pounded and mixed with fat, form an ointment to relieve haemorrhoids. The wood is yellow, termite and borer proof and it is a useful general purpose timber. It is easy to work but nor durable unless thoroughly seasoned.

Sickle Bush (Dichrosachys cinerea)

Unmistakeable to identify as no other tree has a seedpod which curls up like this and the flowers are half pink and half yellow. This tree also belongs to the Mimosoideae family and is restricted to the central to northern parts of South Africa.

 They do not grow to great heights being 5-6 m at most. The pink half of the flower consists of sterile staminodes while the yellow half is fertile flowers.

  Cattle and game eat the pods of this tree with relish and various parts feature in African folk-medicine.

 The roots are chewed and placed on sites of snake bites and scorpion stings and the leaves are believed to produce a local anaesthesia and used for the same purpose and also as a remedy for sore eyes and toothache.

 The wood is extremely hard and durable and poles and axe handles are made from it.

  It has limited uses though as the pieces obtainable from it are small.