Trees of Life

The tree is easily recognised by its distinctive long white paired thorns which can grow up to 10 cm long. These thorns are useful for birds that nest in the trees as they offer protection from predators.

Vachellia trees fall under the Fabaceae family with over 1300 variants worldwide, a large number of which grow in Africa. They can be identified by their grey/black stem and hairy branches. Their heartwood is a reddish brown and distinctly demarcated from their wide white sapwood. 

Vachellia provide diverse sustenance and shelter for a multitude of animals. Giraffes, elephants and vervet monkeys frequently eat the branches, leaves and flowers of the trees. Birds build their nests amongst the thorns while stinging ants are known to live inside the thorns themselves. 

The name Cussonia was given by Carl Peter Thunberg to commemorate the French botanist Pierre Cusson (1727-1783). 
It is believed that the common name 'kiepersol' comes from the Portuguese (Quinta-sol) or Indian (Kitty-sol), words for a parasol or sunshade. 

The large, digitately compound, cabbage blue-green leaves are one of its most distinctive features. The blue leaf colour is in some part due to the thick waxy layers on the leaves, which helps protect the plant against severe frosts. 

The flowers are pollinated by an enormous variety of insects. When they are in full flower, it sounds like a beehive. 

The delicious small yellow-orange fruit attracts many birds and animals. The fruits are high in Vitamin C and make an outstanding jam.

The Kei Apple grows into a thick bush.  It is widely cultivated as a hedge as it offers both privacy and safety.
The leaves can be used as fodder for livestock.   

Fruits of the Broom Cluster Fig tree are produced in summer. They are very sweet and are consumed fresh or as a jam.

The wood of the Broom Cluster Fig trunk is used traditionally as part of a fire-lighting kit and for making mortars, drums, brake blocks, and bed boards. The inner bark is used to make rope. The white latex from the live growth areas of the plant is used for treating lung and throat ailments. 

Like other fig trees, the Broom Cluster Fig relies on a symbiotic relationship with a specific wasp species which, while laying eggs inside the fig, collects pollen and pollinates other “fruit” of the same species.

For many thousands of years, the yellowwood resin has been combined with other ingredients to make adhesives to glue arrow-heads to shafts for hunting weapons. When heated to a certain temperature, the adhesive becomes brittle and will break under pressure,  leaving a poisoned arrow-tip in the wounded animal.