Waxberry is a much-branched subshrub of dry grasslands and open woodland in eastern and southern Africa and Arabia, growing to about 60 cm. It is the only species in its genus and is grown mainly for its distinctive waxy-white fruiting bracts in dry, sandy, well-drained conditions.
Family
Caryophyllaceae (Pink & carnation family)
Grows as
Shrub
Light
Full sun
Water
Water sparingly and let the soil dry out fully between waterings.
Soil
Light, sandy, free-draining soil.
Temperature
18–35 °C; protect below 5 °C
How easy
Easy
Native range
Eritrea to S. Africa, Arabian Pen.
Climate
seasonally dry tropical
About
Pollichia campestris, commonly known as waxberry or barley sugar bush, is a herbaceous plant in the family Caryophyllaceae and the only species in the monotypic genus Pollichia. It is found in southern and eastern Africa and in the Arabian peninsula.
Where it grows
Pollichia campestris is native to the Arabian peninsula, eastern Africa and southern Africa. Its range extends from Saudi Arabia and Yemen, through Eritrea and southwards in East Africa to Angola, Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Its typical habitat is grasslands, thickets, and open woodland on light, sandy soils, at elevations of up to 2,340 m (7,700 ft).
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Pollichia 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.