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Warburgia ugandensis
Also called Pepper Bark Tree, East African Greenheart, Elephant Pepper Tree, Uganda Greenheart
Warburgia ugandensis is an evergreen tree from the Canellaceae family, native to wet tropical East Africa from Ethiopia to Malawi, valued for its strong, insect-resistant wood and peppery leaves. Grow it as a large tree in frost-free, humid conditions; it is not a typical container or houseplant.
Warburgia ugandensis, also known as Ugandan greenheart or simply greenheart tree, is a species of evergreen tree native to East Africa. Countries in which the plant species is found include Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The wood is resistant to insect attack and very strong. It was commonly used for the yoke pole of ox-wagons, the Disselboom. Early Indian immigrants to Kenya, working on the construction of the railway, used the leaves to flavor their curries before the chilli plant was commonly introduced. The flavor is hot and subtly different from chillies.
Extracts of W. ugandensis have been reported to show some antimalarial, antifungal, and antibacterial properties in vitro or in animal models.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Warburgia ugandensis 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.
