About Cassine peragua L.
Cassine peragua (scientific name: Cassine peragua L.) has several common names: Cape saffron, bastard saffron, and forest spoonwood. It is a medium-sized tree with fragrant flowers, decorative fruits, and a saffron-coloured trunk. This species is indigenous to the Afro-montane forests of South Africa. Its natural range covers the southern and eastern parts of South Africa, including Eswatini. Within this region, it grows across a wide variety of habitats, from deep Afromontane forest to coastal dunes and rocky mountain slopes. Besides the most common, widespread subspecies, two rare dwarfed subspecies (subsp. barbara and subsp. affinis) grow in small, restricted locations in the Western Cape. Today, Cassine peragua is cultivated as an ornamental garden tree throughout South Africa.
