Terminalia myrtifolia is a southern African tree or large shrub in the Combretaceae family, grown for its shade, timber and scented flowers. It does best in warm, seasonally dry conditions with full sun and well-drained soil.
Family
Combretaceae (Combret family)
Grows as
Tree
Light
Full sun
Water
Water deeply but infrequently, letting the soil dry out between waterings once established.
Soil
Well-drained, sandy or loamy soil; tolerates poor soil.
Temperature
18–30 °C; protect below 5 °C
How easy
Easy
Native range
SE. Kenya to KwaZulu-Natal
Climate
seasonally dry tropical
About
Terminalia myrtifolia is an African species of plant in the family Combretaceae. Its flowers are strongly scented and perceived by humans to be either 'honey-like' or 'cloying' or even 'stinky'. The timber is red, hard and durable, and used for furniture and construction.
This is a dense, often multi-stemmed semi-deciduous small tree with a drooping habit up to 20 m tall. Bark is greyish-pink, and smooth, net-like in appearance. Leaves are opposite and simple, 10–95 mm x 6–35 mm, narrowly elliptical with acute apex and base; surface glabrous and occasionally glossy above; margins entire and may be wavy. Petiole is often hairy. Inflorescence axillary and some 45 mm long. Ellipsoid fruit with 2 or 3 wings, 10–25 mm x 5–17 mm.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Terminalia myrtifolia 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.