African Wildlife & Environment Issue 85

GARDENING FOR BIODIVERSITY

Diego in America is decorated with it. In fact ‘our’ Cape Honeysuckle is proudly sported in gardens in warmer countries around the world and the long list includes destinations such as the Pacific Islands, China, Pakistan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Israel, Australia and many more! T. capensis has even received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. However, in areas like Hawaii and central Florida it has escaped from cultivation and has become invasive because the insects, and some herbivorous mammals, that keep it in check in its home country are not present there. So it is wise to restrict garden plants to their home countries! In traditional South African medicine T. capensis is used to treat a wide range of illnesses; for example the bark has been used for influenza, fevers, chest ailments, diarrhoea, dysentery and stomach pains. Dried and powdered bark is rubbed around the teeth to treat bleeding gums.Another use of the bark is for insomnia so if your garden wildlife, such as bats, frogs, crickets, nightjars or owls, is keeping you awake then you know which plant to reach for!

Yellow Bells Tecoma stans flowers; beautiful, but bad! (Photograph: W Menne)

Any South African traveling overseas would not fail to notice how frequently T. capensis is used in parks and public gardens in countries like sunny Spain, while a good percentage of the city of San

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!

Charles & Julia Botha charlesbotha@gmail.com

Yellow Bells Tecoma stans pods containing seeds ready to invade pristine areas (Photograph: W Menne)

53 | African Wildlife & Environment | Issue 85 (2024)