Proteaceae FAMILY

Protea caffra

Edibility

0/5

Medicinal

1/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Botanical Description

Protea caffra is an evergreen shrub or small tree. In areas subject to frequent burning it remains a shrub, growing 1.5 - 3 metres tall, but in other areas it can become a small tree with a somewhat rounded crown that can be 8 metres tall with a bole up to 40cm in diameter[ 328 Title African Flowering Plants Database Publication Author Website http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php Publisher Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques. Year 0 ISBN Description Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map. ]. The thick bark has a chunky, corky texture which protects the mature plant from the fires that happen so commonly in the grassland where it grows. The plant is harvested from the wild for local medicinal use.

Habitat & Origin

Origintropical

Native RangeEastern Africa - Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, eastern DR Congo, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, S. Africa.

HabitatFound in a wide range of habitats from humid, tropical coastlines to grassland and high ridges; on a variety of geological formations, favouring poor, sandy or quartzite soils, acid in nature, but also sometimes even on alkaline dolomite[ 418 Title Ecocrop Publication Author Website http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available. ].