Schotia brachypetala
Introduction
A handsome tree with a wide-spreading, rounded crown, and bright red, nectar-filled flowers in spring and early summer that attract many birds and insects; it is easy to grow and makes a good shade tree or specimen tree.
Description
Description
Schotia brachypetala is a handsome, medium to large tree with a wide-spreading, densely branched, rounded crown. It has a single trunk that sometimes branches low down. The flowers are rich deep red, and are produced in masses, in dense branched heads on the old wood during spring (Aug.-Nov.). The flowering time is somewhat irregular in that a tree in bloom may be a few metres away from one that has no sign of flowers. This irregularity is of value to the nectar feeding birds, and ensures a longer feeding season.
The fruit is a hard, flattened, woody, dark brown pod containing flattened, pale brown approx. 20 mm diameter seeds with a conspicuous yellow aril. The pods split on the tree, maturing during late summer to autumn (Feb.-May).
Conservation Status
Status
According to the Red List of South African plants, Schotia brachypetala is not threatened, and is assessed as Least Concern (LC).
Distribution and habitat
Distribution description
Schotia brachypetala occurs in warm dry areas in bushveld, deciduous woodland and scrub forest most often on the banks of rivers and streams or on old termite mounds at lower altitudes from around Umtata in the Eastern Cape, through KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland, Mpumalanga, Northern Province and into Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
Derivation of name and historical aspects
History
The genus Schotia was named by Nikolaus Joseph Jacquin (1727-1817) after Richard van der Schot (1733-1790). Van der Schot was originally from Delft, Holland, and was head gardener at the Schonbrunn Imperial Garden in Vienna, Austria. He went to Vienna in 1753 to tend the new Dutch Garden at Schonbrunn Palace created by Emperor Franz 1 Stephan in 1753. In 1754 he travelled with Jacquin to the West Indies on a plant collecting expedition sponsored by the Empress Maria Theresa and Franz 1 Stephan, returning to Vienna in 1756. He was the Director of the Menagerie at Schonbrunn Palace, today the Schonbrunn Zoo, from 1789-1790. Jacquin was a botanist and chemist, and studied medicine. He was Professor of Botany and Chemistry and Director of the Botanical Garden of the University of Vienna 1768-1797.
The specific name brachypetala means 'having short petals' in Greek and refers to the flowers which are unique among Schotia species in that the petals are partly or completely reduced to linear filaments. The beauty of the flowers is in the brightly coloured calyces (sepals), stamens and pedicels (flower stalks). The flowers produce copious amounts of nectar, which over-flows and drips or 'weeps' from the flowers and may be the origin of the common name, the weeping boer-bean, or huilboerboon in Afrikaans. The name could also be derived from the spittle bug, Ptyelus grossus, a small insect that parasitises Schotia brachypetala, sucking up the sap which it then excretes as froth that collect and drips down the branches, but as it also parasitises other trees, the dripping nectar is the more likely, and attractive, origin. The boerboon / boer-bean (farm bean) part of the name was earned by all the species of Schotia, because of their edible seeds, and their resemblance to the original boerboon, Vicia faba, the domestic broadbean.
Schotia is a small genus endemic to southern Africa which proved itself difficult to classify, as the members are variable and hybridise with each other where their ranges overlap. A revision of the genus undertaken by Dr. L.E. Codd in 1956 reduced the 15 described species to four. All four species are restricted to Africa south of the Zambezi River. The other three species are as follows:
- Schotia afra, the Karoo boer-bean or Karooboerboon which has two distinct varieties Schotia afra var. afra which occurs in the coastal districts of the southern and eastern Cape, and Schotia afra var. angustifolia which occurs inland in Namaqualand and Namibia
- Schotia capitata, the dwarf boer-bean or kleinboerboon which occurs along the coast from KwaZulu-Natal, through Swaziland and into Mozambique
- Schotia latifolia the forest boer-bean or bosboerboon which occurs from Riversdale in the Western Cape to near Umtata in the Eastern Cape and in Mpumalanga.
Ecology
Ecology
Schotia brachypetala attracts a wide variety of birds, animals and insects and is a noisy, hive of activity while in flower. Nectar-feeding birds, particularly sunbirds, bees and insects feed on the nectar. Insect-eating birds feed on the insects attracted by the flowers. Starlings, monkeys and baboons eat the flowers, monkeys eat the seeds, birds eat the aril on the seeds and the leaves are browsed by game and black rhino also eat the bark. The latter visitors of course are only expected in game reserves.
Uses
Use
Not only is Schotia brachypetala an exceptional ornamental tree, it also has a number of other uses: A decoction of the bark is taken to treat heartburn and hangovers. Bark and root mixtures are used to strengthen the body and purify the blood, to treat nervous heart conditions and diarrhoea, as well as for facial saunas. The seeds are edible after roasting, and although low in fat and protein they have a high carbohydrate content. Both the Bantu-speaking people and the early European settlers and farmers are said to have roasted the mature pods and eaten the seeds, a practice which they learned from the Khoikhoi. The bark can be used for dyeing, giving a red-brownor red colour. The timber is of good quality, suitable for furniture making. The sapwood is pinkish-grey and not durable unless treated.The heartwood is a dark walnut, almost black, hard, fairly heavy and termite resistant with a dense fine texture and has been much used for furniture and flooring blocks. It is also said to be excellent for all kinds of wagon wood and was chiefly in demand for wagon beams.
Growing Schotia brachypetala
Grow
Schotia brachypetala grows easily, transplants well and blooms whilst still relatively young. On heavy soils in colder climates it can be quite slow, but in warm, frost-free areas in deep sandy soil with plenty of water in summer, it is surprisingly fast, and has been known to reach a height of 12 m in 17 years. For best results, plant in a warm sunny position, in deep, well-aerated sandy soil, add plenty of well-decomposed compost (humus) and water liberally in summer. A general purpose granular fertiliser can be used during the growing season. It is half-hardy to frost, and young plants require protection, but a well-established tree in a protected spot, should be able to withstand a winter minimum of down to -5C (23F).
Propagation is by seed or truncheon cuttings. Schotia brachypetala grows easily from seed, which should be sown in spring to early summer, in a well-drained general-purpose potting soil, placed in a warm but shaded spot and kept moist. Soaking the seed overnight in warm (not hot) water is not necessary for germination to occur, but should hurry things along. Dusting the seed prior to sowing, or drenching after sowing, with a fungicide that combats pre-emergence damping off, although not essential, will increase the percentage germination. Truncheon cuttings can be taken in winter to early spring while the tree is not in active growth, and should placed in well-drained sandy soil in a cool shady spot and kept damp but not wet.
Schotia brachypetala with its decorative foliage, showy flowers and symmetric shapely habit is an excellent tree for gardens and parks, but it is not advisable to plant it over paved areas, car parks etc, because of the dripping nectar in the spring. It nevertheless makes a good shade tree and although it looks good in a large landscape or standing alone as a specimen tree, it is also suitable for smaller gardens.
References
- Germishuizen, G., Meyer, N.L., Steenkamp, Y. & Keith, M. (eds) 2006. A Checklist of South African plants. Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 41. SABONET, Pretoria.
- Coates Palgrave, Keith, 1977, Trees of Southern Africa, C. Struik Publishers, Cape Town, Johannesburg
- de Winter, B, de Winter, M. and Killick, D.J.B., 1966, Sixty-Six Transvaal Trees, Botanical Research Institute, Dept. of Agricultural Technical Services
- Palmer, E. and Pitman, N., 1972, Trees of Southern Africa, Volume 2, A.A. Balkema, Cape Town
- Phillips, E.P. (ed.), 1940, The Flowering Plants of South Africa. Volume 20, Plate 777, J.L. van Schaik Ltd., Pretoria.
- Pooley, E., 1993, The Complete Guide to Trees of Natal, Zululand and Transkei, Natal Flora Publications Trust, Durban
- Smith, C.A., 1699, Common Names of South African Plants, Dept. of Agricultural Technical Services, Botanical Survey Memoir No 35, Government Printer.
- van Wyk, B.E., Gericke, N., 2000, People's Plants, Briza Publications, Pretoria
- Charters, Michael L. 2006-2013. The Eponym Dictionary of Southern African Plants http://www.calflora.net/southafrica/plantnames.html accessed 20 January 2014
- Konig, Charles & Sims, John (Eds.) 1806. Short account of the Imperial Botanic Garden at Schonbrunn, near Vienna, Annals of Botany Vol 2, (382-387) originally published in London, digitized by Google, accessed 20 January 2014
- D'Arcy W.G. 1970. Jacquin names, some notes on their typification. Taxon 19 (554-560).
- Erickson, Robert F. Undated. Nikolaus Joseph, Freiherr von Jacquin 1727 - 1817. http://www.illustratedgarden.org/mobot/rarebooks/author.asp?creator=Jacquin,+Nikolaus+Joseph,+Freiherr+von&creatorID=80 accessed 20 January 2014
Credits
Giles Mbambezeli & Alice Notten
Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden
August 2001, updated January 2014
Plant Attributes:
Plant Type: Tree
SA Distribution: Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga
Soil type: Sandy, Loam
Flowering season: Spring, Early Summer
PH: Acid, Neutral
Flower colour: Red
Aspect: Full Sun
Gardening skill: Easy
Special Features:
Attracts birds
Feature plant
Edible plant
Medical plant
Useful plant
Feeds honeybees
Horticultural zones
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User Comments
Warren Mudge, South Africa
September 11, 2018 at 10:03 AMA question, perhaps much asked? Why is Schotia brachypetala also given the same common name as Halleria lucida, Tree fuschia? Is this something attributed to where one lives perhaps? Thanks
Alice Notten
September 12, 2018 at 2:20 PMPlant common names can be illogical and confusing. Quite frequently different, unrelated species share the same common name. In many cases the same plant can have different common names in different regions. Sometimes unrelated plants that look alike may get given the same common name in error, i.e. the one may be mistaken for the other, or they earn them independently. And some plants collect many common names, others have none.
I don’t know how Schotia brachypetala and Halleria lucida both earned the name Tree Fuchsia. In the older literature, only Schotia brachypetala has it as a common name.
I don’t know why or when Schotia brachypetala earned the name Tree Fuchsia, I expect it may be because of the colour and profusion of flowers.
I think Halleria lucida may have earned the name, because its shrubby relative Halleria elliptica is called Wild Fuchsia, because its flowers resemble those of a fuchsia, and H. lucida is similar but a tree. Halleria is not closely related to the true Fuchsia. And another genus Phygelius, is also called Wild Fuchsia, but is also not a true Fuchsia nor closely related to Halleria.
There is another Tree Fuchsia, which really is a true fuchsia (Fuchsia excorticata), that occurs in New Zealand.
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