Rock Candlewood
Maytenus oleoides
Common names: Mountain maytenus ( Eng. ); Klipkershout (Afr.)
SA Tree No: 400
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Size:
It develops the proportions of a massive tree yet does not get much taller than 4 or 5m.
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Bark:
The bark is pale greyish brown to ashen grey, smooth when young, becoming rough and corky with vertical grooves as it matures.
Leaf:
​The leaves are hard and leathery, bright green with a bluish bloom.. Young growth is coppery red and the petioles and new stems are often a decorative pinkish red.
Flower:
The flowers are small, creamy white, in tight clusters in the axils of the leaves, mainly during spring (Aug.-Nov.), although the Kirstenbosch garden specimens were in full flower in early winter (May-June).
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Fruit:
The fruit is a 2-lobed capsule about 10 mm in diameter, fleshy at first, greenish yellow, becoming yellow-orange and dry when mature, splitting in summer (Dec.) to release seeds that are covered by a yellow aril.
Growth Habit:
On the exposed rocky upper slopes it is a shrub or small stunted tree, and on the lower slopes it is usually a small stocky tree with a dense crown.
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Habitat:
It grows on rocky slopes and on the edges of forests.
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Wildlife:
T.
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Distribution:
Is native to the Northern Cape, Western Cape and Eastern Caperom Namaqualand through Gifberg and the Cederberg to the Cape Peninsula and eastwards to the Groot Winterhoek Mountains near Uitenhage. It grows naturally on the slopes of Table Mountain above Kirstenbosch.
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Uses:
A tea can be made from the leaves. The hard, heavy and beautiful golden-brown wood is used for furniture, ornaments, spoons and durable fence posts. An ink is made from the juice of the fruit. Traditional remedies prepared from this plant serve as eye lotions and tonics, lower blood pressure, improve kidney function and deal with sore throats. The early Cape settlers used the fruits to treat diarrhoea.
Growing it...
It is easy to collect the dry seed in early summer (December) when the capsules dry and split open. Seed is best sown immediately after collecting while it is still fresh (summer-autumn) or it can be stored in a cool dry place and sown the following summer.
We have found that in the nursery Maytenus oleoides does not do well when grown from cuttings. Saplings need to be planted out into the open ground as soon as they are strong enough
April Photo's
