Rapanea melanophloes Cape Beech
The steady and graceful Cape beech is suitable for a large garden or it can be used as a hardy screening plant, as it is dense, evergreen and sends out suckers to form bush clumps. It requires low maintenance, if planted in the right area. Do not plant it next to paved areas, where roots and new suckers can sprout. This is a hardy tree which is useful for a coastal garden and windy areas. When young, the leaves are pale green and maroon. Small, whitish or creamy yellow clusters of flowers appear in June to December. The fruits are spherical in shape, green when young and purple when matured. It is not common to find flowers and fruit on the same tree. Fruits start appearing three months after the flowers. The flower attracts bees and flies and the fruit are eaten birds like guinea fowl, pigeons, louries and barbets. Baboons, bushpigs and vervet monkeys also enjoy the fruit. The wood is very hard and is used for furniture and violin making as it is very similar to the European Beech. It is used medicinally for stomach and heart complaints and as a charm to ward off evil. The roots are non aggressive. The name is probably derived from the Guinean name meaning unknown.