Description
This evergreen, medium tree grows up to 10 m tall in woodlands but reaches 20 m in forests. It has a dense roundish crown. The bark on younger branches is smooth and grey-brown, but darker grey, rough and cracked like crocodile skin on older branches. The glossy green leaves are often crowded towards the ends of the branches and have little bumps. The beautiful bell-shaped flowers are borne singly in summer. They are creamy white with purplish red streaks and speckled inside the flower tube. They have a strong sweet scent, which lingers even after they dry. They are followed by round, hard, green fruits with leathery skin and marked with faint grooves. The fruits soften when ripe and turn brown. They contain many flat seeds embedded in pulp. The fruit is enjoyed by baboon, monkeys bushbuck, grey duiker and bushpig.. This beautiful tree is suitable for a small garden as it has non aggressive roots. It grows very well in light shade or full sun, preferring loam or sandy soils to clay. It grows moderately fast (0.7 m per year) and may flower in its second year, but most take a little longer. Do protect young trees from frost. It attracts birds and butterflies. It is used medicinally to treat wounds, leprosy, burns and rheumatism. The wood is hard and strong and is used hut building, fuel and tools. For Joran(George) Johansson Rothman (1739-1778) a Swedish botanist, physian and translator.