Where to find the Glossy Bottlebrush, Greyia sutherlandii, easily:

Glossy Bottlebrush trees are most easily found when it occurs on exposed, rocky hillsides and steep mountain slopes of the Drakensberg and other high-lying areas of the Highveld and KwaZulu-Natal.

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• This is a small, mostly gnarled tree.
• Simple, alternate leaves are round, smooth and hairless, with lobed, toothed margins.
• The base of the long leaf-stems almost surround the twig or branchlet.
• The leaves turn bright red before dropping in autumn.
• The red, bottlebrush flowers are densely packed and erect and appear before, or with, the leaves in spring (August to October).

Seasonal Changes

Deciduous. This tree is easiest to identify when in leaf and flower.

Height: 2 - 4 m
Density: Moderate

This is a single-stemmed, low-branching tree with a crooked trunk and large branches that spread widely to form a round to irregular canopy. The large, dark branches are visible in the canopy.

Look-alike tree
This tree can be easily confused with the Woolly Bottlebrush, Greyia radlkoferi, which looks very similar except that the leaves have thick, velvety, white hairs on the under-surface.

Leaves

The leaves are crowded towards the end of thick branchlets and twigs. The upper-surface is dark green with a pale green under-surface, and numerous veins that radiate from the base (50 - 150 X 110 mm)

Flowers

The bell-shaped flowers have long stamens and grow in tightly packed, brush-like spikes at the end of twigs and branchlets (Aug - Oct) (Spike: 120 mm; individual: 20 mm).

Fruit

The small fruit is a pale brown, cone-shaped capsule that appears between the old flowers and is not readily visible (Aug - Mar) (20 mm).

Bark

The bark is dark and rough. Young stems are reddish-grey and smooth.

Gardening

This is an attractive tree for the garden but needs well-drained soil. It is frost- and drought-resistant and grows easily from cuttings and seed. It is also suitable to grow as a bonsai.

Human uses

The wood is pale pink, light and soft. It has been used for carving and to make dishes. Root infusions were used
to induce vomiting and to treat nausea.

Links with animals

The flowers attract many insects and sunbirds.

For more information on this tree and a wealth of others in the region, get a copy of the Sappi Tree Spotting Highveld and the Drakensberg. Illustrations by Joan van Gogh