Inflorescences of Greyia sutherlandii
Greyia sutherlandii, or Natal bottlebrush, is a small tree endemic to South Africa that is, for reasons well demonstrated by today’s photo, popular among gardeners in warm, dry climates. The flowers–tightly-packed racemes–emerge in late winter before the leaves, looking particularly bright and stunning against the silvery bark. Towards the end of the flowering period, the leaves emerge bright green and then later age to a darker green colour.
Its genus and species name both honour male colonialists who spent time in South Africa. Sir George Grey was a governor of the Cape Colony, while Dr. Peter Cormack Sutherland, a Scottish physician, was the first to deliver a specimen of this species to England in 1850. I imagine that the African people noticed and used this beautiful tree long before Grey and Sutherland ever stepped foot in Africa. I found one account that the soft, light-pink wood was traditionally used to make cutlery. This species also has a number of common (non-English) names, including isiDwadwa, inDalu, and uBande in Zulu, and umBere-bere in Xhosa.
Ooh, my. That is beautiful.
Does anyone know what the locals’ names mean, or why they call it what they do? The English name is fairly plain, considering how spectacular the flowers are!
What a difference one letter can make: change the e in the genus name to an a, and you get Grayia – a pokey gray shrub of the deserts of western North America. Grayia also celebrates a mid nineteenth century botanist: Asa Gray, the eminent Harvard botanist. Grayia is a Chenopod recently moved to the Amaranthaceae. Grayia is way less showy than Greyia: http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-taxon=Grayia+spinosa
Does anyone know of this plant in horticulture?
Thank you for including the African names for this bush.
Uhm, I really appreciate the feminist political point of view! Thanks.