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Curtisia dentata
Also called Assegaai Wood, Assegai Wood, Cape Assegai Wood, Cape Lancewood, Lance Wood
A medium to tall evergreen tree from southern Africa, grown for its glossy dark leaves and clusters of white berries. It is a hardy, fast-growing specimen or hedge tree that does best in sun or light shade with moist conditions.
Curtisia dentata (commonly known as the Assegai tree or Cape lancewood, Afrikaans: Assegaai, Xhosa: Umgxina, Zulu: Umagunda) is a flowering tree from Southern Africa. It is the sole species in genus Curtisia, which was originally classed as a type of "dogwood" (Cornaceae), but is now placed in its own unique family Curtisiaceae.
It is increasingly popular as an ornamental tree for gardens, with dark glossy foliage and sprays of pure white berries. The bark of this tree is a very popular component of traditional African medicine, leading to overexploitation and a decline in the species in some areas of South Africa. The tree is protected in South Africa.
The Assegai tree is attractive, fast-growing and hardy. When planted alone, it grows into a shapely, evergreen tree. Planted in a row it makes an attractive, tall, leafy hedge and it grows especially dense and bushy when planted in the sun. However, it can be grown in light shade as well as full sun, and its roots are non-invasive so it can also be planted near to buildings. It does not create much leaf litter, and it is storm-firm due to its deep roots and tough branches. The tree's edible (but bitter) berries also attract birds to the garden.
The bark of this tree is widely used as a traditional medicine for curing stomach ailments and diarrhoea. It is also reputed to be an aphrodisiac. Due to this, the tree is often overexploited and even effectively exterminated from some parts of the country.
The Assegai tree grows in the forests of South Africa and Eswatini, ranging from sea level to 1,800 m (5,900 ft) elevation, and from Cape Town in the south to Limpopo province in the north. It also grows in Afromontane forest in the Eastern Highlands along the border of Zimbabwe and Mozambique, and Mount Gorongosa in Mozambique. In deep Afromontane forest it grows into a tall tree, but on open mountain slopes and by the coast it remains a small bushy tree. Curtisia has been in decline in some areas, as its bark is highly valued for traditional medicine. It is now a Protected Tree in South Africa.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Curtisia 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.
