Southern botterboom

Southern botterboom (Tylecodon paniculatus): This deciduous succulent is a dwarf tree with a characteristic thick, short trunk and substantial branches. It only grows from 1 to 3m and is most common on rocky outcrops, mountain slopes and hills of south-western Namibia including Fish River Canyon and Rosh Pinah. The botterboom is also known as the Butterbaum, a favourite in any rockery.

Features include a smooth bark and olive-green to yellow-green in colour. The leaves are light-green and smooth on both upper and lower sides. The flowers are a reddish tube with yellowish to reddish-brown lobes, displaying best from July to December. The Cape black-eye butterfly uses the southern botterboom as a larval host-plant.