Euclea divinorum is a shrub or small tree from eastern and southern Africa, grown mainly for its use in traditional dye, leather, ink and toothbrush-twig practices. It is hardy and drought tolerant, and the key to growing it is well-drained soil and full sun.
Family
Ebenaceae (Eben family)
Grows as
Tree, Shrub
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Water deeply but infrequently, letting the soil dry out between waterings.
Soil
Well-drained sandy or loamy soil; tolerates poor, rocky ground.
Temperature
15–35 °C; protect below 5 °C
How easy
Easy
Native range
Ethiopia to S. Africa
Climate
seasonally dry tropical
About
Euclea divinorum, called diamond leaf, diamond-leaved euclea, magic guarri, and toothbrush tree, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Euclea, native to eastern and southern Africa. A shrub or small tree, it has many uses in Africa, including as a source for dye for wool, for tanning leather, and an ink, and as a preservative for milk (allowing it to keep for up to a year), and, by chewing on a twig, as a toothbrush.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Euclea divinorum 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.