African sandalwood

African sandalwood (Osyris lanceolata): This plant bears very, small yellow-green flowers that bloom from February to April. A ripe stone-fruit is red to dark purple in colour. It grows in a variety of habitats, mainly in the mountainous areas in north-central and western Namibia extending south as far as the Bullsport region.

The bark on this plant is grey and branchlets grey-brown. The leaves are grey-green or blue-green. Male and female flowers grow on separate plants. This is not a favourite plant for animals to browse on and the bark was once used for tanning. The Cupreous Blue and Common Dotted Border butterflies are attracted to the African sandalwood.