You know its spring when all the colours of the rainbow eucalyptus, a tree from Papua Guinea, shows off the artwork in its bark; and the cannonball tree, from South America, bears fruit that can weigh between five and 7kg.
These are among signs of the new season at the Durban Botanic Gardens, says tour guide Vishnu Moodley.
“We have a colour-changing tree that has every colour in the world on it, called the rainbow eucalyptus. One hundred percent natural, we call it a painting because it looks like you painted the tree. It drinks 100 litres of water a day, so it keeps on growing and as it grows, it stretches the bark. When it stretches the bark, it peels, making it bright green, then into different stages of colours. So whenever the wind blows, there’s a new design.
“The tree is also ice cold to the touch; it is 137 years old, and a younger one is 97 years old,” said Moodley, who educates the public on the trees, plants and flowers at the garden.
Another extraordinary tree he points out is the cannonball tree, which bears beautiful orange flowers but has a horrible-tasting fruit.
“Cannonballs, weighing more than 5kg, grow on the tree; the fruit tastes terrible, smells bad and the inside of the fruit resembles dog’s poo, but the contrast is that it has the most exquisite flowers on the planet. This tree is 150 years old.
“Couroupita guianensis is a deciduous tree in the family Lecythidaceae, and is native to the rainforests of Central and South America. The tree is planted as an ornamental for showy, scented flowers and as a botanical specimen. Hindus consider it a sacred tree as the petals of the flowers resemble the sacred snake, Naga, a cobra protecting a Shiva Lingam with its hood.”
Moodley said that in Guyana they use the fruits to make beer, although if you eat the fruit it tastes like plastic. The tree only starts blooming in the lead up to spring and will only flower for two months. It remains bare throughout other months, with only the large cannonball fruits hanging down.
He said climate change had resulted in the tree having fruits and flowers, but normally it would only have flowers.
Other interesting plants are the Scadoxus, or snake lilies, that have orange flowers, which pop up to indicate the change of season when winter is over.
The garden also houses kapok trees, which produce cotton, as well as cinnamon trees and the banyan tree from India, which is called a walking tree because it spreads so widely.
Their sunken garden also has salvia’s, red flowers that only bloom during spring and for only two months, a perfect backdrop for wedding pictures.
The gardens were developed in 1849 as a station for the trial of agricultural crops. The main plant collections comprise cycads, orchids, bromeliads and palms, as well as 80 heritage trees, many over 100 years old.
