Bolusanthus speciosis - S.A. No. 222
Tree Wisteria, Vanwykshout

This beautiful species occurs in the Northern Province, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland and Zimbabwe in a variety of habitats.

The genus name of the tree honours Harry Bolus, a businessman and enthusiastic botanist. The specific name "speciosus", is Latin for "beautiful".

• Height: In the wild this is a small deciduous tree, 7m - 12 m tall, sometimes up to 18m, usually multi-stemmed with an erect, slender growth form.
• Bark: On older trees the bark is brown to blackish-brown and deeply longitudinally fissured.
• Leaves: The leaves have a smooth edged margin, slightly and irregularly scalloped. They are alternate, compound with 3-7 pairs of leaflets plus a terminal leaflet present. Markedly asymmetric at the base, but broadly tapering and rounded with a narrowly tapering apex. They are yellowish green, with the midrib and lateral veins pale yellowish and conspicuous, bright shiny green above and dull green below.
• Flowers: Beautiful pea-shaped, pale blue to violet in colour arranged in long drooping bunches. Bunches of flat non-splitting pods persist on the tree for a long time after flowering. Flowering September to October extending sometimes into November and even on to December or January.
• Fruit: A flat narrow pod about 7-10cm in length with a light brown or straw colour, but sometimes they may even be grey or even blackish with age. Fruit usually appears February to March.

The Tree Wisteria thrives in a variety of environments but does not like cool wet summers.

This tree seems to be a fragile and delicate tree, but the appearance belies the facts. It occurs in gardens in Southern Africa which receive some moderate frost during winter, and it can survive long periods of drought. The wood of the tree is also borer and termite resistant. The seeds germinate readily, but the seedlings do not transplant easily. However, given a good, well-drained soil and a sunny position free from frost, they can be fast growing.

The Tree Wisteria is certainly one of the most beautiful trees in southern Africa when in flower, and certainly rivals the Jacaranda (Jacaranda Mimosifolia). Its biggest drawback is the fact that it is short-flowered. However, the neat growth form and glossy foliage makes this an attractive plant all year round. The wood is one of the hardiest of the indigenous trees and has a wide variety of uses, although the pieces are usually small. The local Africans use the dried inner bark to relieve abdominal disorders.