Puzzlebush

Hottentot's Lilac or the Puzzlebush (Ehretia rigida) as it is more commonly known is a multi-stemmed shrub with arching branches that curve slightly downwards. This gives it an untidy, tangled look. They can grow in a number of habitats such as open woodland and on termite mounds, mainly in the Kalahari Desert and Windhoek.

Southern Yellow-billed Hornbills, Crested Barbets, Meyer's Parrot and the Grey Lourie regularly eat their orange-red to black berries. Butterflies, bees, beetles and other insects are attracted to their flowers. Stock and game browse their leaves and this plant is used as fodder on game and livestock farms.

The bendy branches can be made into bows and fishing baskets. The powdered root is used to treat gall-sickness in cattle or for chest pains in humans. This plant is frost resistant, requires moderate amounts of water and plenty of sunshine. Flowers bloom in the springtime.