Description
This is a much branched shrub or small tree in the fringes or in underbrush of evergreen forests. It is found along the South African east coast in Mpumalanga and Limpopo, as well as in Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Mozambique and further north in tropical Africa. The leaves are simple, spirally arranged or alternate and they are glossy green and leathery. The flowers are tubular. Flower colour may be greenish yellow or tinted red-brown or maroon in spring to summer. The fruit is a berry that turns purple or black when ripe, sometimes with a tuft of creamy hairs at the tip. While the plant is poisonous, the fruits are eaten by birds. The bark is used to make rope. Named for John Peddiea who died in 1840.
