Plant indigenous trees: Graceful and proud
Lindsay Gray on behalf of Hillcrest Conservancy will produce weekly articles regarding the various indigenous small trees that you can plant in your garden.
A LOVELY tree to have in your garden at this time of year is Milettia grandis or the Umzimbeet.
The Zulu name is umSimbithwa while the Xhosa know the tree as umKunye.
This is such a lovely shade tree for medium to large gardens. It has a spreading crown (not as wide as the flat crown) which makes it perfect to sit under on a warm day.
The tree is currently in flower and can be spotted in the suburbs.
The distinctive lilac to purple flowers stand proud of the branches, making the tree very easy to identify.
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The leaves are compound, a glossy dark green on top with fine silky hairs on the underside. It is semi-deciduous in the cooler months, followed by beautiful coppery new growth in the spring. The flowers are followed by copper-coloured, velvety pods that also stand proud of the branches.
The tree grows slowly but steadily.
Sometimes a young tree can exhibit soft, almost flaccid branches until its roots gain traction and then the branches seem to firm up and the tree starts to fill out beautifully.
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The Umzimbeet does not have an aggressive root system making it a suitable tree for areas with hard surfaces.
The wood of this tree is prized for manufacturing furniture, smaller implements and walking sticks, not only because it is a hard, durable wood but due to the variation in colour of the timber – reddish to dark brown in the centre with a yellow sapwood.
The Umzimbeet is popular with insects and is a wonderful nectar plant for many butterflies.
Baboons enjoy stripping and eating the bark.
Because of its eventual width, it is not advisable to plant this tree in a small townhouse garden but it is a true delight for medium to large gardens and especially in public open spaces and car parks.
Contact the Hillcrest Conservancy chairman, George Victor, on 073 901 3902, e-mail georgevic@telkomsa.net or visit the website www.hillcrestconservancy.co.za or contact Lindsay Gray at info@schoolofgardendesign.com
Other articles in this series:
Plant indigenous trees – The African Dog Rose
Plant indigenous trees: The Cheesewood
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