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Denise Bush
Friday, 13 September 2024, 12:04
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Native to South Africa, this beautiful small to medium-sized tree is a stunning addition to the garden, providing lots of shade and a source of nectar for bees and other pollinating insects.
Its botanical name is Virgilia divaricata; the genus named after the famous Roman poet, Virgil and the specific epithet means 'divergent' referring to the widely spreading branches.
The common name, keurboom, is Afrikaans and means 'the pick of all trees'.
The keurboom has finely pinnate green leaves and, from mid spring until mid summer, will produce dense racemes of pinkish-mauve flowers up to 10cm long. The blooms are an important source of nectar for bees and other pollinating insects. After the flowers are over, brownish, velvety 'bean' pods develop. They turn black and split open when mature revealing between two and six seeds. The seeds need to be soaked in hot water before sowing to soften the hard outer coating and help germination. Unlike many seeds they stay viable for anything up to twenty years.
The trunk has a smooth silvery bark when young which turns grey and gnarly as it matures. It is a very fast growing tree, in just two or three years it will be providing lots of welcome shade. When mature it will have a rounded crown and can reach 10 metres tall in ideal environments.
It is not frost resistant but will withstand some drought. However, it is not particularly long-lived, the average is between twelve and twenty years depending on the location.
Another species often confused with Virgilia divaricata is Virgilia oroboides which can be distinguished by its grey-green, velvet-covered leaves.
The wood of Virgilia was once used to make yokes for cattle, wheel spokes, rafters and furniture. The gum was used as a substitute for starch.
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