About Xylotheca kraussiana Hochst.
Xylotheca kraussiana Hochst. is an African shrub or small multi-stemmed tree classified in the plant family Achariaceae. It grows in sandveld and is widely distributed across the eastern regions of Southern Africa, particularly in eastern Transvaal, coastal Natal, and Mozambique. It prefers the sandy soils found in coastal bush and coastal forest. The generic name 'Xylotheca' translates to 'woody case', while the specific epithet kraussiana honours Dr C.F.F. Krauss (1812–1890), a German naturalist who later became director of Stuttgart's Natural History Museum. Krauss arrived at the Cape in 1838, and collected plant specimens in Natal from 1839 to 1840. Approximately 8 other species within the genus Xylotheca occur in central Africa and Madagascar. The leaves of this species are dull grey-green, grow in an alternate arrangement, and are covered in soft grey hairs. Its flowers are white, with a dense central cluster of yellow anthers, and resemble a small white rose. The fruit is an ovoid woody capsule roughly 40 mm (1.6 inches) long with distinct surface ridges. When ripe, the fruit is yellow, and it partly splits into five sections to reveal black seeds each covered with a bright red aril. Birds relish the pulp that surrounds these seeds. This species was previously placed in the family Flacourtiaceae, before being moved to Achariaceae by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group.
