South Africa has a plethora of iconic, indigenous trees that add to the beauty of South African biodiversity. SouthAfrica.co.za delivers factual and educational information on indigenous South African trees, such as the grand Baobab and Marula trees, the sausage tree and the quiver tree.
Black Monkey Orange
The black monkey orange bears a fruit about the same size as a commercial orange, up to 10 cm wide, which starts out green-blue in colour and ripens to a dull yellow colour….more
Buffalo Thorn
The buffalo thorn blooms from October to April, showing its silvery green flowers hiding in dense bunches of its leaves. Its leaves, too, are silvery-grey, which gave it the Afrikaans name blinkblaar…more
Bushwillow
The bushwillow blooms during September in greenish-yellow axillary spikes. These sweet fragrant flowers have been seen to be in bloom during February and March, and it may therefore be possible that they bloom…more
Common Star Chestnut
The common star-chestnut is an unusual looking tree which is hard to miss with its fat trunk that resembles molten material both in shape and its grey-pink colour….more
Jackalberry
The Jackalberry tree can grow extremely tall, up to 25 m high. The circumference of its trunk measures about 4 m. The tree trunk grows upright, spreading its first branches high…more
Knob Thorn
The knob thorn tree is characterised by the shape of its leaves. Each leaf comprises of four to six leaflets, is rather large with lopsided bases and double pinnately compound. The rachis bends backwards…more
Marula Tree
The marula tree has a history that dates back thousands of years. Archaeological evidence has shown that this tree has been a nutritional source since about 10 000 BC. The marula…more
Mopane Tree
The mopane tree characterises the landscape in which it grows for the most part of the year, its new green leaves turning a variety of autumn colours later in the season. It is known for its kaleidoscopic…more
Nara Plant
The nara plant can grow up to 1.5 m in height, its roots digging deep into the sand in search of water tables. These plants are entirely leafless….more
Natal Mahogany
The Natal Mahogany is an evergreen tree that can reach a height of 20 m. It bears a wide spreading crown, creating dense shade under its branches of shiny, dark green leaves….more
Rubber Euphorbia
The branches of this tree are modified into cylindrical photosynthetic organs. The process of synthesizing glucose food from carbon dioxide and water is usually the role of the leaves, the part of the tree usually endowed with green chlorophyll….more
Sausage Tree
The sausage tree carries beautiful flowers varying from blood red to maroon, hanging down in long panicles. Animals such as bushpigs, the impala, duikers, baboons and lovebird come…more
Sickle Bush
The leaves of the sickle bush are soft and feathery. Like other parts of the tree, they are nutritious and are also used in a number of medicinal applications….more
Silver Cluster-leaf
The silver cluster-leaf has a practical common name. Its long lance-shapes leaves are clustered at the ends of the branches and fine silvery hairs covering the surface of the leaves give them a shiny appearance….more
Umbrella Thorn
The pods of the umbrella thorn tree are eaten by wild and domestic animals as well as humans, at times. These twisty, gold-brown pods fall to the ground unopened in large quantities….more
Weeping Boer Bean
e weeping boer bean is a medium-sized to large tree, varying in height from 11 m to 16 m and able to reach 22 m. It has a single trunk which grows its first branches rather close to the ground….more
Weeping Wattle
The weeping-wattle gets the weeping part of its name from the fact that it harbours spittle-bugs. These small sap-sucking insects tap moisture from the stems of the weeping-wattle so rapidly that it is excreted almost as quickly as it is ingested….more
Welwitschia
The welwitschia is a very strange plant with long, wide, strap-like leaves that grow on the ground. The plant only grows two leaves in its lifetime, which break into separate segments…more
Wild Date Palm
The wild date palm is an evergreen tree that grows no higher than 6 m. Its leaves are about 3 to 4 m long and resemble a feather, comprised of approximately 50 leaflets per side….more