THIS week we look at a delightful tree called the Cheesewood, or Pittosporum viridiflorum.
The Cheesewood is an evergreen tree with a pale brown bark that has very distinctive white pits or dots.
While not showy, the clusters of small, greenish-white flowers, that make their appearance from September to November, are quite fragrant, especially towards the evening.
The small, shiny, orange-red seeds make quite a show on the tree when the seed capsules split to release them and of course this attracts a variety of birds to the tree.
The Afrikaans name for the Cheesewood is Kasuur or Witboekenhout, the Zulu name is umVusamvu or Umphushane, and the Xhosa name is Umgqwengqwe.
A bit of history about the Afrikaans name – apparently Kasuur is a contraction of kaasuur, or ‘candle hour’, referring to the time of day when the flowers are at their most fragrant.
The Cheesewood is widely distributed in the eastern half of the African continent and even occurs in India.
It also occurs across a range of altitudes.
The tree is frost hardy, but it does enjoy well draining soil and a decent amount of water until it is established.
The tree grows relatively slowly and will tolerate full sun or semi-shade.
Although it can grow tall in its natural habitat, it makes a well-shaped, medium tree in a garden setting.
The Cheesewood’s non-aggressive root system, fragrant flowers in early summer and the fact that it attracts birds to the garden, make this tree a must.
Contact the Hillcrest Conservancy chairman, George Victor, on 073 901 3902, e-mail georgevic@telkomsa.net or the website www.hillcrestconservancy.co.za or contact Lindsay Gray at info@schoolofgardendesign.com
