The Tortoise Berry

Tags

berries, Cape Town, coastal garden, Flowers, garden, Nylandtia Spinosa, plants, purple flowers, South African endemic plant, Tortoise, Tortoise Berry, water wise

The Tortoise Berry (Nylandtia spinosa) is a really striking little shrub. It has masses of pea-like purple flowers flowering from April until October. Attractive and thorny foliage, pretty red edible fruits, and water-wise attributes make it a great choice for windy Cape Coastal gardens.

The fruits are edible and much loved by tortoises and birds. Children can eat the berries safely. The fruits are rich in Vitamin C and thirst quenching.

The Tortoise Berry – Nylandtia Spinosa

Cape Snowbush

Tags

Afrikaans, Asteraceae, Cape Chamomile, colds and flu, Eriocephalus africanus, Essential oil, Flowers, garden, grey leaf, health, Leaf, nature, plant, plants, shrub, silvery hairs, South African endemic plant, Vicks, water wise, wild rosemary

 

The Cape Snow-bush, wild Rosemary or Kapokbos (Afrikaans) Eriocephalus africanus  is one of the shrubs that most people in the Cape know because it is so common in the veld and easy to identify with its thin, grey leaves, which smell like Vicks when crushed. It is also a well-known medicinal plant and an excellent shrub for the water wise garden.

Looking at the leaves that are arranged in tufts along the branches, it is easy to see a number of features that help the plant to survive with little water. Special features include the grey leaf colour which reflects sunlight and thereby reduces leaf temperature. The minute, silvery hairs covering the leaves trap moisture and thus reduce transpiration. The small, needle-shaped leaves are another adaptation that limits water loss. The aromatic oils are also thought to help reduce water loss. Shrubs growing on the coast have succulent leaves, whereas those growing away from the coast have thinner, less succulent leaves.

Flowering times vary, but the best displays are in winter when the whole shrub is covered in small, white flowers. On warm days many bees are attracted to the flowers, seeking their small amounts of nectar. Soon after flowering, fruits are formed that are covered in long, white hairs. These attractive, fluffy seed heads look like cotton wool or snow, which gave Eriocephalus the common name kapokbos in Afrikaans. (Kapok refers to snow). In the past people used to collect the heads and stuff pillows with it for a lovely fragrant sleep.  I also use it in cooking as a delicious alternative to Rosemary, which always reminds me of Karoo lamb.

The Cape-Snow bush leaves are distilled to make an Essential Oil known as Cape Chamomile

• Cape Snow-bush Essential Oil is warming to the emotions and useful in the treatment of depression. It helps in the “letting go” of negative thought-forms to clear the mind and achieve a positive and gentle perspective.
• Useful in the treatments of colds and flu – eases coughing and helps the body to expel mucous.
• It also aids digestion, calms intestinal cramps, relieves flatulence and colic; and is useful in the treatment of diarrhea and dysentery.
•  Cape Snow-bush Essential Oil is said to be excellent for treating scanty or painful menstruation and oedema of the legs (especially pre-menstrual oedema).
• This oil is especially useful in the treatment of patients with addictive personalities and for those who have no time to allow themselves healing.

 

 

Pig’s Ears

Tags

Flowers, garden, pigs ears, plants, South African endemic plant, succulent, water wise

Pigs’ Ears, “plakkies” (Afrikaans) Cotyledon orbiculata, fast-growing succulent is well known to gardeners, forms a low shrub and adds colour to the winter garden. Forms with handsome grey leaves provide year-round interest in the garden.

These are photographs of ones I planted in a garden 2 years ago. What a beautiful display they make. The brightly coloured flowers attract bees and birds, which feed on the nectar of the plant. The silver-grey leaves of some forms owe much of their attractive colouring to a powdery white coating which may assist in reflecting much of the sun’s heat to prevent excessive water loss from the thick succulent leaves.

Uses and cultural aspects
This is a well-known medicinal plant. The fleshy part of the leaf is applied by many South Africans to soften and remove hard corns and warts. The Southern Sotho use a dried leaf as a protective charm for an orphan child and as a plaything. In the Willowmore District, the heated leaf is used as a poultice for boils and other accessible inflammations, in particular, earache.

Van Wyk et al. (1997) report that a single leaf is eaten as a vermifuge and that the warmed juice can be used as drops for toothache or earache. They also report that the juice has been used to treat epilepsy.

This is an easy to grow plant suitable for a number of places in the garden. Cotyledon orbiculata is an ideal plant for the rockery, but also grows well as a pot plant placed on a veranda (stoep). It will also add texture and form to the well-drained flower border. When planted as a pot plant, good drainage is important. It is often found in full sun, but also grows well in semi-shade under trees. This is an ideal plant for the water-wise gardener.