Syringas

Syringas are my most hated of alien, invasive plants in Durban. They spread like wildfire, grow easily in this climate and are a task to remove. Since coming back to Durban last October I have seen more and more of them, and it seems that many people (myself included) don’t know the details.

A few Google searches revealed that what we erroneously call ‘Syringa’ is in fact Melia azedarach, the ‘Chinaberry’ Tree, which is part of the mahogany family and native to India, southern China and Australia. While some of the facts about the tree sounded familiar; the use of its leaves for medicinal purposes (also in Indian and Zulu communities in KZN) and the fact that its berries are toxic to humans but not to birds (which facilitates the spreading of the plant), I was surprised to find that it is commonly used as timber.

Melia azedarach has a timber of high quality, but is generally underutilised. Apparently, the seasoning of the wood is also relatively simple as it dries without cracking or warping and is resistant to fungal infection. I quickly did the Math. Durban is overrun by these alien and invasive trees that grow to around 12m, which equals a lot of crack-free, water and fungus resistant timber, that could be used as building materials or to make furniture etc. as in the case of Koop.

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Who’s been eating my Halleria?

We got three Halleria Lucida plants at the plant fair last spring. Two are doing swimmingly, while the third seems to have been infected with a fungi, or eggs laid by little miggies… Have a look and compare the two pictures. Do you know what those little miggies are? The Halleria infected by them is … Read more

Amazing orange leaves

I was in Swaziland, at the Mkhaya National Park, when I saw this amazing tree with these deep, orange leaves.  I don’t know much about the tree but have always loved the photograph so I thought I’d share it.