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Cussonia spicata
Also called Lowveld cabbage tree, Common cabbage tree, Spiky Cabbage Tree, Cabbage Tree, Elephant's Toothbrush, Ladies' Cabbagetree, South African Cabbage Tree
Spiked cabbage tree (Cussonia spicata) is a small to medium African tree in the ivy family, growing to about 15 m with a sturdy trunk and a rounded, spreading crown of leaves held in rounded heads at branch tips. It is grown as an ornamental and does best in a sunny, well-drained spot in a frost-free climate.
Cussonia spicata, commonly known as the spiked cabbage tree or common cabbage tree, is species of tree in the family Araliaceae. Native to East Africa, this species is widely distributed from South Africa in the south to South Sudan in the north.
Cussonia spicata is widely distributed in East Africa, occurring in Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, as well as the islands of the Comoros and Mayotte. It grows in both dry and riverine forests, rainforests, wooded grasslands, and savannahs at altitudes of 200–2,550 m (660–8,370 ft) above sea level.
Cussonia spicata is harvested locally for its wood, roots, and leaves to be used as food, medicine, and timber. The wood is light and perishable but is used to construct beehives, wooden bicycle wheels, doors, mole traps, tool handles, and utensils. The succulent roots are edible and have been used as a traditional malaria treatment. The leaves are harvested for fodder and are used in traditional medicine for treating indigestion. It is used both locally and internationally as an ornamental plant.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Cussonia spicata 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.
