Cape chestnut | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Sapindales |
Family: | Rutaceae |
Genus: | Calodendrum |
Species: | C. capense |
Binomial name | |
Calodendrum capense | |
Calodendrum capense, the Cape chestnut, is an African tree which was first studied at The Cape in South Africa and cultivated widely for its prolific flower display. The tree obtained the common name of "Cape chestnut" because explorer William Burchell saw a resemblance to the horse chestnut in terms of flowers and fruit, though the two are not closely related.
It is native to a swath of the east side of the continent from the equatorial highlands of Kenya at its northern limit southwards through isolated mountains in Tanzania to both sides of Lake Malawi, the Mashonaland Plateau and Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe, and then along the lower slopes of the Drakensberg Mountains of South Africa and in coastal forests from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town.
The tree can reach 20 metres high in a forest, but in cultivation it is more likely to reach 10 metres, with a spreading canopy.
The trunk is smooth and grey and the leaves are ovate up to 22 cm long and 10 cm wide. The large pink flowers are produced in terminal panicles and cover the tree canopy in the early summer.
Cape chestnut oil, obtained from the seeds, otherwise known as Yangu oil, is a popular oil in African skin care. Its inherent ultraviolet protection, its high content of essential fatty acids and antioxidants and its mild odour destined it for natural cosmetics. The seeds are eaten by birds and monkeys.
Eucalyptus regnans, known variously as mountain ash, swamp gum, or stringy gum, is a species of medium-sized to very tall forest tree that is native to the Australia states of Tasmania and Victoria. It is a straight-trunked tree with smooth grey bark, but with a stocking of rough brown bark at the base, glossy green, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of between nine and fifteen, white flowers, and cup-shaped or conical fruit. It is the tallest of all flowering plants; the tallest measured living specimen, named Centurion, stands 100 metres tall in Tasmania.
Alectryon excelsus, commonly known as tītoki, is a shiny-leaved tree native to New Zealand. It is in the family Sapindaceae. It lives in coastal and lowland forests throughout most of the North Island and from Banks Peninsula to central Westland in the South Island.
Aesculus hippocastanum, the horse chestnut, is a species of flowering plant in the maple, soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is a large, deciduous, synoecious (hermaphroditic-flowered) tree. It is also called horse-chestnut, European horsechestnut, buckeye, and conker tree. It is not to be confused with the Spanish chestnut, Castanea sativa, which is a tree in another family, Fagaceae.
Ricinodendron is a plant genus in the family Euphorbiaceae first described as a genus in 1864. It includes only one known species, Ricinodendron heudelotii, native to tropical Africa from Senegal + Liberia east to Sudan and Tanzania and south to Mozambique and Angola. It produces an economically important oilseed. The tree is known as munguella (Angola), njangsa (Cameroon), bofeko (Zaire), wama (Ghana), okhuen (Nigeria), kishongo (Uganda), akpi, djansang, essang, ezezang and njasang. Two varieties of the tree species are recognized R. heudelotii var. heudelotii in Ghana and R. heudelotii var. africanum in Nigeria and westwards.
Ceiba speciosa, the floss silk tree, is a species of deciduous tree that is native to the tropical and subtropical forests of South America. It has several local common names, such as palo borracho, or árbol del puente, samu'ũ, or paineira. In Bolivia, it is called toborochi, meaning "tree of refuge" or "sheltering tree". In the USA it often is called the silk floss tree. It belongs to the same family as the baobab; the species Bombax ceiba; and other kapok trees. Another tree of the same genus, Ceiba chodatii, is often referred to by the same common names.
Leucadendron argenteum is an endangered plant species in the family Proteaceae, which is endemic to a small area of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa. Most grow in and around the city of Cape Town, but outlying populations exist near Somerset West (Silwerboomkloof), Paarl and Stellenbosch. It is a protected tree in South Africa.
Pachira aquatica is a tropical wetland tree in the mallow family Malvaceae, native to Central and South America where it grows in swamps. It is known by its common names Malabar chestnut, French peanut, Guiana chestnut, Provision tree, Saba nut, Monguba (Brazil), Pumpo (Guatemala) and is commercially sold under the names Money tree and Money plant. This tree is sometimes sold with a braided trunk and is commonly grown as a houseplant, although more commonly what is sold as a "Pachira aquatica" houseplant is in fact a similar species, P. glabra.
Calodendrum is a genus of medium-sized evergreen trees comprising two species from Africa. Calodendrum capense, the Cape chestnut, is a well known tree that is widely cultivated, while Calodendrum eickii is a rare forest tree from Tanzania. The botanical name comes from Greek, kalos means beautiful and dendrum means tree. Both species are harvested for their timber in Africa.
Calodendrum eickii is a rare forest tree from Tanzania which is closely related to the widely cultivated Calodendrum capense, or Cape chestnut.
Tecoma stans is a species of flowering perennial shrub in the trumpet vine family, Bignoniaceae, that is native to the Americas. Common names include yellow trumpetbush, yellow bells, yellow elder, ginger Thomas. Tecoma stans is the official flower of the United States Virgin Islands and the floral emblem of The Bahamas.
Brabejum is a genus of a single species of large evergreen tree, Brabejum stellatifolium in the family Proteaceae, commonly called wild almond, bitter almond or ghoeboontjie. It is restricted in the wild to South Africa's Western Cape province, where it grows in thickets along the banks of streams. The plant is of botanical interest as being Africa's only member of the large grevilleoid subfamily. It is a bushy small tree with branches widely at ground level and numerous erect vigorous stems. Leaves grow up to 6 in (15 cm) long, narrow and bluntly toothed, appear at intervals along the branches, mostly in whorls of 6. In summer, the plant bears white flowers densely crowded on spikes arising from rusty buds at the leaf axils. The fruits to 2 in (5 cm) long, magenta to reddish brown, similar to an almond, appear in autumn. The nut is too bitter to eat; however, in earlier times it was boiled, roasted, and ground to make a "coffee" drink.
Celtis africana, the white stinkwood, is a deciduous tree in the family Cannabaceae. Its habit ranges from a tall tree in forest to a medium-sized tree in bushveld and open country, and a shrub on rocky soil. It occurs in Yemen and over large parts of Africa south of the Sahara. It is a common tree in the south and east of southern Africa, where the odour given off by freshly-cut green timber is similar to that of Ocotea bullata or black stinkwood.
Mimusops caffra is a species of tree in family Sapotaceae. This tree is found in coastal dune vegetation in Southern Africa from the Eastern Cape, through KwaZulu-Natal to southern Mozambique.
Ilex mitis is a tall, dense, evergreen tree that is indigenous to Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. It makes an excellent fast-growing hedge for gardens - growing tall, straight and dense.
Maytenus oleoides, commonly known as the mountain maytenus or rock false candlewood, is a dense, medium-sized tree that grows throughout the western half of South Africa. It is known as klipkershout in Afrikaans.
Southern Afrotemperate Forest is a kind of tall, shady, multilayered indigenous South African forest. This is the main forest-type in the south-western part of South Africa, naturally extending from the Cape Peninsula in the west, as far as Port Elizabeth in the east. In this range, it usually occurs in small forest pockets, surrounded by fynbos vegetation.
Zanthoxylum capense, the small knobwood, is a species of plant in the family Rutaceae. It occurs in the eastern regions of southern Africa, from the vicinity of Knysna, Western Cape to the Zimbabwean granite shield and coastal Mozambique. It tolerates a range of altitudes, from highveld to coastal elevations, but is most prevalent in dry thickets or on rocky slopes and outcrops.
Nagkesar oil is extracted from seeds of the nagkesar tree. It belongs to the Calophyllaceae family. It is an East Indian evergreen tree and is often planted as an ornamental for its fragrant white flowers that yield a perfume. It is the source of hardwood used for railroad ties. It is Sri Lanka's national tree.
Euclea crispa, commonly known as the blue guarri, is an Afrotropical plant species of the family Ebenaceae. The hardy and evergreen plants may form a dense stand of shrubs, or grow to tree size. It is widespread and common in the interior regions of southern Africa, and occurs northward to the tropics. Though some are present near the South African south and east coasts, they generally occur at middle to high altitudes. It is readily recognizable from its much-branched structure and dull bluish foliage colour. Those bearing lanceolate leaves may however resemble the Wild olive, another common species of the interior plateaus.
Hakea lissosperma, commonly known as needle bush and mountain needlewood, is a species of Hakea native to parts of south eastern Australia.
Media related to Calodendrum capense at Wikimedia Commons