Description

This well-known, drought and wind-resistant, the indigenous plant can grow into a shrub as it is usually multi-stemmed, or a small tree when the lower branches are pruned. It is ideal for water-wise gardens.

Dodonaea viscosa var. Angustifolia is an evergreen shrub or small tree up to 5 m high. Its bark is light grey and finely fissured. The droopy leaves are shiny light green above and paler green below.

its flowers are small, yellowish green and are followed by decorative clusters of yellow or reddish fruits with papery wings. Flowers are produced from April to August (autumn-winter). This is a fast-growing plant that prefers a sandy substrate; when given good soil and plenty of water it requires minimal water once established.

This shrub is grown worldwide, as the roots have soil-binding properties which are effective for stabilizing sand dunes and controlling erosion.

The early Cape settlers used a decoction prepared from the new leaf tips for fever. In rural areas, Dodonaea viscosa var. Angustifolia is still widely used for colds, influenza, stomach trouble and measles. For a sore throat and oral thrush, it is used as a gargle. The Khoi-Khoi used a concoction of the root for colds and influenza. In Namaqualand the green leaves are boiled slowly, then left to steep, and strained, and the extract is used for influenza, colds and also to induce sweating. It is also used to relieve coughs and the congested feeling typical of influenza, croup and diphtheria. The same extract is considered to alleviate stomach ailments and fever.

The leaves are used externally as a remedy for itchy skin and to treat skin rashes. An extract of the leaves is used as a mild purgative and for rheumatism, sore throat and haemorrhoids. Other early uses of the plant include the treatment of pneumonia, tuberculosis and skin rashes.

In southern Africa, it is regarded as one of the most important traditional medicines and is used in combination with other medicinal plants, including Viscum capense (Willem Steenkamp, pers. comm.). Most of the Dodonaea viscosa var.Angustifolia specimens found in the Karoo Desert National Botanical Garden are a host plant to the hemiparasitic shrub, Viscum capense, which grows on them. Seeds of the parasite are deposited on the branches of the host as a result of birds feeding on the fruits of the parasite and cleaning their beaks on the branches of the host.