About Schotia afra Thunb.
This species is a small evergreen tree, reaching a maximum height of 5 meters, with rigid branches and a gnarled trunk. It produces numerous bright red to pink flowers, which grow in small clusters distributed throughout the tree, from February to March. The flowers make large amounts of nectar that attract birds, particularly the Lesser Double-collared Sunbird and Malachite Sunbird. The butterfly Dantalis breeds on this tree. After flowering, the tree develops attractive, large lime green to pink seedpods that turn brown when they ripen. Seeds are dispersed via the explosive seedpod: when dry, the seedpod catapults seeds a large distance away from the parent plant. Seeds are produced every year in May and June. Under normal conditions, seeds germinate in moist soil in late spring, after winter rains. This tree grows in South Africa, along the banks of dry streams and small rivers in the Little Karoo, drier regions of the Eastern Cape, and the southern part of the Western Cape.
