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Myrsine melanophloeos, Cape beech, is a dense evergreen tree or large shrub of African montane forests and stream banks, grown as an ornamental screen, bonsai or shade tree. It is tolerant of wind, coastal conditions and drought once established, and it suckers from roots, so keep it away from paving.
Myrsine melanophloeos, commonly known as Cape beech, Kaapboekenhout (Afrikaans), isiCalabi (Zulu) or isiQwane sehlati (Xhosa) is a dense evergreen tree that is native to the afromontane forests of Africa, ranging from Nigeria and Sudan to South Africa. Outside forests they are also commonly encountered along stream banks and in gullies.
Despite its common name, it is not a close relative of the familiar beech tree of the northern hemisphere, and it is actually more closely related to the Rhododendrons; it comes from the beech-like grain of its wood. The Xhosa name isiQwane sehlati meaning "forest protea" comes from the tree's leaves bunching like a protea (isiQwane) flower.
Myrsine melanophloeos is cultivated as an ornamental tree and screening shrub in gardens, and as a potted bonsai specimen. It is hardy and grows well in windy areas and near the coast. Once established, the plant is reasonably drought tolerant and has low maintenance needs.
The plant sends up suckers from its roots that eventually become new trees, and so is best not planted adjacent to paving. Rapanea grows easily from seed.
The natural range of this stately tree is from Cape Town in the south, to Ethiopia and Nigeria in the north. In the Eastern Cape it is sometimes found alongside its smaller coastal relative, Myrsine gilliana.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Myrsine melanophloeos 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.
