Plant Profile
Halleria Lucida
Common names: Tree Fuchsia
Plant Type :
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Evergreen :
Indigenous :
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Shrub
Up to 3.5 m
Evergreen
Indigenous
Sun / Semi-Shade
Lots of water
Well Drained Soil
Some Wind
Frost Resistant
Halleria lucida is an attractive tree and an asset to any garden, and is also one of the best bird attracting trees.
In the more exposed situations it is generally a stocky or shrubby tree that reaches a height of 2-5 m but in well watered, protected situations it can reach up to 12 m, and in forests, it can grow up to 20 m in height.
Halleria lucida is found in coastal and karroid scrub, deep evergreen forest, forest margins, forested ravines, rocky mountain slopes, near rivers and on stream banks from the Cape Peninsula in the south in a strip up the eastern coast of South Africa, through the Eastern Cape to Lesotho, the eastern Free State, KwaZulu-Nataland Swaziland where it turns inland and roughly follows the escarpment into Mpumalanga, Gauteng and the Northern and North West Province. It also occurs in isolated pockets in Zimbabwe.
Halleria lucida is tough and easy to grow, and thrives under many different conditions. It is fast growing, and performs best in well-drained nutrient-rich loam with water provided all year round although it tolerates periods of drought. It is relatively hardy to frost (zone 9: minimum -7 °C/ 20 °F) but requires protection when young.
Halleria lucida makes a shapely specimen tree for the smaller garden, and looks at home in the larger landscape, where it can also be planted in groups. It can be used to provide shade, or can itself be planted in shade as an under-storey tree. It can also be used in the fynbos garden. It is suitable for use as an informal hedge, and can be planted in a large container. It is also one of the best bird attracting trees.
Foliage
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It has a spreading crown and attractive glossy bright green foliage on arching and drooping branches.
Flower
Time : Colour :
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Spring - Autumn
Orange , Dark Orange , Orange Red , Red , Dark Red
Unspecified
Unspecified
- Flower morphology
The flowers are tubular, orange to brick-red, or yellow, very rich in nectar and are produced in clusters in the axils of leaves and on short shoots on the old wood, even on the main trunk. When in full flower in autumn to summer (May to December/January) it can be very showy, although the flowers are somewhat hidden amongst the leaves and inside the canopy.
The nectar-rich flowers attract sunbirds and other nectar-feeding birds that pollinate the flowers.
NOTES
The name tree fuchsia was acquired because of its fuchsia-like flowers. It has also been known as the white olive, witolienhout and witolyfhout as the quality of its timber is suggestive of that of the olive.
Can also be used as hedging.
