Description
This very beautiful, medium sized, evergreen tree is drought resistant. It grows in semi-shade and has magnificent terminal sprays of pink , scented flowers in summer. These attract insects. The name literally means ‘beautiful tree’ which comes from the Greek kalos=beautiful and dendron=tree. They attract insects so it’s great for the insect eating birds. It is the larval host plant for the Citrus Swallowtail, Emperor Swallowtail and the Green-banded Swallowtail butterflies and two moth species. This tree attracts mammals as the samango and vervet monkeys eat the fruit as well as fruit eating birds like the parrots, pigeons and doves. The Xhosa hunters use the seeds in bracelets to bring luck. It.and has non-aggressive roots and makes a lovely street tree. It is a magical tree.The pale yellow wood is tough and pliable and is used for furniture and the flowers are long lasting in a vase. Soap is made from the boiled seeds. The bark is sold at street markets as a beauty product.