River elder is a shrub or small tree from seasonally dry tropical Africa, Madagascar and south-west Arabia, usually found near streams and rivers. It tolerates a wide range of conditions, and in cultivation it needs a warm, frost-free spot with good drainage and regular watering while young.
Family
Stilbaceae (Stilb family)
Grows as
Tree, Shrub
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Water regularly during the growing season and let the top of the soil dry slightly between waterings.
Soil
Well-drained, fertile soil or a loam-based potting mix.
Temperature
18–30 °C; protect below 10 °C
How easy
Moderate
Native range
Eritrea to S. Africa, Madagascar, SW. Arabian Pen.
Climate
seasonally dry tropical
About
Nuxia oppositifolia, commonly known as water elder or water nuxia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Stilbaceae. It is native to a wide area of Africa, and to the Arabian Peninsula.
Nuxia oppositifolia is a shrub or small tree, with reddish-brown bark, leathery or sub-leathery leaves, and whitish or lilac flowers. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature lists the species as of Least Concern.
Where it grows
Nuxia oppositifolia is native to the seasonally dry tropical biome of Africa, Madagascar, and the south-west Arabian Peninsula. It is present in Angola, Djibouti, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Within South Africa, it is present in the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Nuxia oppositifolia 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.