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Rare Tree: Poison brides-bush
National Tree Number: 721
Botanical name: Pavetta schumanniana
Other names: Poison brides-bush (Eng), Gifbruidsbos (Afr), Sawoti (Siswati), Tshituku (Venda), isiMbuzana (isiZulu)
Description:
Shrub or small attractive tree up to 7m in height, but occasionally taller.
The Poison brides-bush is a widespread and common, slow-growing tree which grows in moderate rainfall areas, and does not tolerate frost. The leaves are poisonous to stock (hence its common name), and cause a stock disease called gousiekte. In this form of poisoning small doses of leaves cause heart failure. The white scented flowers are pollinated by moths. The small black fleshy fruits borne between April and June attract animals or birds, which spread the seed. It is suitable as ornamental garden plant in mild and warmer climates, and may require protection in colder areas or additional watering in dry areas.
The bark is ligth grey to dark brown and furrowed. The flowers are white, with a strong sweet scent, and in dense clusters on stalks just below the leaves. They appear between September and February. The fruit is urn-shaped, rather leathery, about 1 to 1.5cm long, reddish-green to brownish, crowned with persistent horn-like enlarged calyx lobes. The leaves are usually opposite, sometimes in whorls of 3, with interpetiolar stipules (small leaflike outgrowths on the stem between the bases of the leaves of a pair), obovate or egg-shaped, widest beyond the middle, and 60-150 x 20-75mm. They are shiny bright green in colour with few rough hairs above, soft grey hairs below. Tip rounded, margins smooth and the base tapering into a short stalk. The wood is small, black and spherical fleshy fruits when mature, occurs in dense clusters, and is about 8mm in diameter. The wood is not utilized.
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(photograph: NBI/the dwaf) |
