Botanical name |
Halleria lucida (SA No 670) |
Other names |
Tree fuchsia; notsung (Afrikaans) |
Family |
Scrophulariaceae |
Dimensions |
Small tree or shrub, sometimes deciduous |
Description of stem |
Often many-stemmed, bark light brown, rough, longitudinally fissured and flaking |
Description of leaves |
Simple, opposite, ovate, upper surface shiny and leathery; often drooping with the apex attenuating; margin sometimes entire, but mostly scalluped or serrated; petiole often reddish |
Description of flowers |
Tubular curved yellow, orange to red flowers of 3-4cm grow from stems and smaller branches, often from axillary clusters; usually occrring from June to March |
Desciption of seed/fruit |
Round, from green to red to purplish black when ripe, diameter 1cm from June |
Description of roots |
|
Variation |
|
Propagation and cultivation |
Easily grown from seed or truncheons |
Tolerances |
Hardy |
Uses |
Edible fruit, popular for gardens, attracts birds, especially sunbirds to the copious nectar supply |
Ecological rarity |
Common |
Pests and diseases |
|
Other |
In the Cape Colony the independent farmers were allowed to use the wood of some trees, including this one, whilst the felling of some valuable or rare trees species was prohibited unless by the State; the name notsung, in German Nutzung (usage) relates to this |
Location |
Kloofs, stream banks, bushy areas; widespread in coastal summer and winter rainfall areas |
Distribution (SA provinces) |
Western Cape; Eastern Cape; Kwazulu-Natal; Free State; Mpumalanga; Gauteng; Limpopo; North West |
Country |
South Africa; Mozambique; Zimbabwe; Lesotho; Swaziland; Zambia and further northwards in Sub-Saharan Africa |