TREE OF THE YEAR
From page 49
Ficus thonningii occurs
naturally in bushveld and
woodland. It is a medium to
large evergreen tree with a
dense leafy crown.
The bark is light to dark grey
and fairly smooth. However
the wood is whitish.
The leaves vary slightly
between elliptical to obovate
which means they are
inverted egg-shaped with the
narrower end at the base and
may be rounded or tapering.
The leaves are smooth but
slightly hairy on the veins,
4,5x12 cm long, rather stiff
and somewhat leathery, midto dark green above, dull and
paler below.
The fruit is a fig borne singly
or in pairs, which are green,
yellowish or sometimes red
when ripe. The fruit is eaten
by birds, bats and antelope,
but no fewer than 29 species
of fig wasp are associated with
the fruit of these trees. They
also provide food for the larva
of a certain butterfly.
This fast growing, semi-frost
hardy tree should be planted
in full sun.
Smallholders are encouraged
to plant these trees as they
provide nutritious fodder,
water and soil conservation,
soil fertility improvement,
wasteland reclamation and
enhancement and maintenance of biodiversity. It also
has other positive attributes
including easiness for
propagation, being benign to
other crops as long as they are
not planted in the tree's
shade, shallow rooted, thus
do not deplete ground water,
high biomass production,
higher nutritive value of
foliage, fast growth rate, and
possible significant contribution to carbon sequestration.
The less common tree of the
year is Maerua Angolensis,
also known as Bead-bean
tree, Umgodithi, Umenwayo,
Umvitsi, or knoppiesboontjieboom. However it will be
difficult to grow in Gauteng
and the alternative rare tree
of the year is Maerua Cafra,
also called Common Bush
Cherry or Gewone Witbos.
It is a hardy evergreen shrub
or small tree that grows up to
a height of
2-9m,
depending
on the local
conditions.
The scented
flowers are
comprised
mainly of a
tuft of
spreading
white
stamens,
tipped with
50
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Maerua Cafra
green. The slender stamens
give the flowers a spider-like
appearance. It flowers in
early spring. The fruit is oval
and pale green with dark
green longitudinal lines,
This water wise tree should
be planted in full sun, in
loamy soil and has a fast
growth rate.
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