Botanical Name: Kiggelaria africana
Common Name: Wild Peach

 

Use: Outdoors
Indigenous/Exotic : Indigenous
Evergreen/Deciduous : Evergreen
Plant Type : Tree
Flower Colour : Green yellow
Foliage Colour : Grey green
Best Season : Summer
Light : Sun
Hardiness : Hardy
Attributes : Attracts butterflies and birds
Height (m) : 5 - 12
Spread (m) : 11
    
Notes : It gets its common name from the appearance of the juvenile leaves which resemble those of a peach. Good insect tree. Bird attracting - one of the best trees for a bird garden. Growth is rapid with a height gain of 1 metre per year under good conditions. Makes an effective shade tree if the lower branches are pruned away to give the tree a clear and straight trunk. Very frost hardy - will survive cold in an unprotected position. If a young tree does get frost damaged, it will recover and eventually outgrow the problem. Thrives in cultivation, provided the rainfall is high. The grey-green foliage has a velvety texture.

 

The flowers are bell-shaped and occur from August to January. The fruits are small, green capsules and are only brone by female trees from February to July. When mature, they split to reveal black seed with an oily, brilliant reddish-orange covering. The seed is loved by birds. It is the host of the butterfly Cymothoe alcimeda and Acrea horta. The latter has small black caterpillars that feed on the leaves, to the delight of Cuckoos. The larvae sometimes defoliate trees but they quickly recover producing a crop of new leaves. The root-system is non-aggressive. Can tolerate moderate, drought conditions. Propagate from seed - it grows readily, or from cuttings.