The open plant encyclopedia
Snap a photo or search by any name to see how to care for it, where it comes from, whether it's safe, and a 3D model you can turn.
The plants people record most in your country, and ones that grow there wild.
Filter by what you want to do, shape, origin, country, care and safety.
Cunonia capensis
Also called Red Alder, Butterspoon Tree, African Red Alder, Butter Spoon Tree, Els, Red Els, Butterknife Tree
A small evergreen tree from southern African forests, grown as an ornamental for glossy red-tinted foliage and fragrant white flowers. It is the only species in its genus found outside New Caledonia, and the key to growing it is steady moisture, especially while young.
Cunonia capensis, the butterspoon tree, butterknife tree, African red alder, red alder or rooiels, is a small tree found in the afromontane forests of southern Africa, and along rivers. It is grown as an ornamental in gardens for its attractive glossy foliage and its clusters of tiny, scented, white flowers. It is the only one of 24 species of Cunonia to occur outside of New Caledonia in the Pacific.
Cunonia capensis is increasingly cultivated across southern Africa as an ornamental specimen tree. It is cultivated for its glossy foliage which is tinted with red, and its sprays of cream flowers. It grows well in full sun as well as in shade, and it can be planted near buildings because it has a gentle, non-invasive root-system. This has recently made it popular in built-up areas. It requires a moist environment though, as trees planted in arid areas would require frequent watering, especially while still small. This has however also made it a very suitable tree for marshy, water-logged gardens, or the banks of rivers. The tree is usually cultivated from its tiny seeds, and the young plants need ample water and some shelter from direct sunlight. It is one of the fastest growing trees in southern Africa.
Cunonia capensis naturally ranges from Cape Town and the Western Cape of South Africa, eastwards all the way to Eswatini and southern Mozambique. It typically grows in the indigenous Afromontane forests of southern Africa, and especially beside rivers. In its natural range it greatly favours moist spots or areas with high rainfall.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Cunonia capensis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
