Download Calodendrum capense > University of Pretoria

Calodendrum capense (L. f.) Thunb.
Family: Rutaceae
Common Names Cape Chestnut (English); Wildekastaiing (Afrikaans), umBhaba (isiXhosa, isiZulu, siSwati); Muvhaha
(Venda).
SA Tree Number: 256
Description: A medium to large deciduous to semi-deciduous tree, this is the only indigenous
member of the Rutaceae (Citrus family) with opposite leaves.
The flowers are borne in racemes and are spectacular, large and pink, with long narrow curved
petals dotted with dark maroon glands.
They may cover the tree in mid-summer, readily identifying it in the forest canopy from a distance.
The fruits are large woody capsules with a knobbly texture like that of the edible chestnut, hence
the common name.
Distribution: occurring mainly in evergreen afromontane forest and riverine thicket in southern
and eastern Africa.
Name derivation: The generic name is derived from the Greek words ‘kalos’, meaning ‘beautiful’
and ‘dendron’, meaning ‘tree’; the specific name ‘capense’ refers to the species being first
described from the Cape of Good Hope.
The English and Afrikaans common names refer to the trees fruits similarity in appearance to the
fruit of the European Chestnut (Castanea), however, they are not related and the seed of
Calodendron is not edible.
Ecology and uses: Several swallowtail butterflies (Papilio spp.) breed on the tree.
The seeds are eaten by samango monkeys, rameron pigeons and Cape parrots. The wood is pale
yellow, and is suitable for furniture and turning. Suitably treated the seed can yield a good quality
oil useful for soap making.
Cultivation: It can tolerate slight frost and temperatures down to -5 Celsius.
Easily grown from seed, C. capense is widely planted in gardens, but flowering is often
disappointing in gardens for some reason.
The tree can also be propagated from cuttings, treated with a suitable rooting hormone.
Notes: Flowering can be erratic, and the tree will often choose odd times to come into flower.
Trees usually flower from seed in about seven years, cutting grown trees can flower in as little as
four.
The tree also boasts a non-aggressive root system, making it suitable to plant near paving and
buildings.
Found in Section G of the Map
References:
Coates Palgrave, K. & Coates Palgrave, M. 2002. Keith Coates Palgrave Trees of southern Africa
edn 3. Struik, Cape Town.
Van Wyk, B. & Van Wyk, P. 1997. Field guide to the trees of southern Africa. Struik, Cape Town.
Van Wyk, B., van den Berg, E., Coates Palgrave, M. & Jordaan, M. 2011. Dictionary of names for
southern African trees. Briza Publications, Pretoria.
Web Resources:
World Agroforestry Centre: Agroforestry Tree Database,
http://www.worldagroforestry.org/sea/products/afdbases/af/asp/SpeciesInfo.asp?SpID=418,
site accessed 31/01/2012.