Xylotheca kraussiana
African dog-rose; Afrikaanse hondsroos;
umBalekani Article by
Geoff Nichols
This small tree
deserves to be in every garden in the
eastern coastal areas of South Africa. It is one of our best spring
flowering trees on the coast. If its grown in full sun it'll delight in
the early Spring with a whole mass of white flat single rose-like
flowers that are about 50mm in diameter. The flowers are sweetly
scented in the evenings and if the air in your garden is still the
scent will waft in through open doors or windows. The cluster of yellow
stamens in the centre of the flower are reminiscent of a small "fried
egg".
The plant
has a gardenia look about it and is partially deciduous
especially if it is grown in full sun and not watered during the winter
resting months. Then in the spring the fresh new leaves appear and the
flowers follow very soon after the first flush of leaves.
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Now comes the
bonus, the seed capsules are egg-shaped if you use your
imagination a bit, more pointed at either end!! They turn a orange
yellow colour when ripe and resemble little lanterns in the tree. As
the mature capsule splits into five segments it reveals the brownish
seeds covered in a sweet orange flesh that are quite palatable even to
humans and extremely tasty to birds and monkeys who don't miss a
capsule in any patch of coastal forest. African dog-roses grow
reasonably fast and I've had my one in my garden for twenty seven years
and it flowered in the fourth year from seed.
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Wild
gardeners are also attracted to the butterflies that use this tree
as a larval host plant. The blood-red acraea (Acraea petraea) uses
Xylotheca kraussiana as its larval food plant. During the summer months
your tree
may be partially defoliated by the caterpillars but once again don't
try
and spray them with an insecticide leave them be and you'll be treated
to
pupating caterpillars everywhere and the pretty red butterflies that
emerge
will please even the most hardened of city hearts.
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