African Wildlife & Environment Issue 84 2023

GARDENING FOR BIODIVERSITY

gardeners’ compulsion to remove any dead branches from their trees. Some members of the Erythrina genus are shrouded in superstition and many rural people will not burn the wood for fear of attracting lightning. E. lysistemon also gets its alternative common name, of Sacred Coral-tree, as the result of a custom: when a man is buried, a branch from a tree growing near his home is planted on his grave. Various parts of different Erythrina species are also used in traditional medicine. A decoction of the leaves has been used for earache and urinary complaints, while a lotion made from the roots is applied to sprains.The bark is used to treat a variety of ailments, including arthritis, abscesses and wounds and even to ease labour in childbirth. If you have developed a bothersome toothache and find your dentist booked up for weeks, you may want, in desperation, to try the bark for this like the VhaVenda do!

Over 30 species of birds have been recorded to utilise the flowers of Erythrina species, including traditional insect-eaters such as the Village Weaver (Spotted-backed Weaver) (Photograph: P Vos)

Charles & Julia Botha charlesbotha@gmail.com

Charles and Julia Botha are the authors of Bring Nature Back to your Garden of which the first edition won a University of KwaZulu-Natal book prize for popularizing science. It explains the important conservation-friendly gardening principles in easy-to-understand, non-scientific language and has now been split into two editions: one for the western part of the country and another for the eastern and northern regions. There is also an isiZulu edition. Their follow up book Bring Butterflies Back to your Garden , describes over 500 recorded butterfly larval host-plants. All proceeds of their books go to the Botanical Education Trust, which funds research aimed at conserving South Africa’s indigenous flora. The books are available from the Flora & Fauna Publication Trust at https://www.floratrust. co.za/ or request your local bookstore to stock them!

48 | African Wildlife & Environment | Issue 84 (2023)