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Deinbollia oblongifolia
A shrub or small tree from coastal bush in southern Africa, valued in wildlife gardens. It is tolerant of coastal conditions and is grown for its foliage, flowers and fruit.
Deinbollia oblongifolia is a shrub or small tree in the family Sapindaceae. It is commonly known as the dune soap-berry and is found in coastal vegetation from the Eastern Cape of South Africa, through KwaZulu-Natal to southern Mozambique and Eswatini. It is named after Peter Vogelius Deinboll (1783–1876), a Danish botanist and plant collector.
The fruit is eaten by people. The leaves can be eaten as spinach, and the seeds can be lathered in water and used as soap (hence the name "soap-berry"). The roots are used in traditional Zulu medicine for stomach complaints. These shrubs are also valuable garden plants, especially in wildlife gardens.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Deinbollia oblongifolia 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.
