Tetradenia riparia

It is a shrub that grows up to 2m high, occasionally reaching 5m. The foliage is sticky and smells pleasantly aromatic. The plant is deciduous and multi-stemmed while the branches are semi-succulent. The leaves are simple, large, heart-shaped and opposite. They are also coarsely toothed, thick-haired and sticky, and are 35–80 mm long. Leaves that are crushed have a ginger scent. Both sides are covered with a thin dark red lint.

The inflorescences are branched, large bunches at the ends of the shoots. About three millimeters in diameter and would appear in veins, the flowers range in color from white to lilac, and pink flowers are also found. Male flower spikes have more of the "mist" effect than the female flowers which tend to be more compact. Flowering occurs only in subtropical or temperate climates in wintertime (June–August) when the plant is bare, in the top section of the branches, coinciding with the frost.[3]

It grows on the banks of rivers and hillsides. It is found in eastern South Africa in the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Limpopo, Namibia, Angola and Botswana and in eastern tropical Africa.

It is commonly planted in gardens as an ornamental because of its abundant decorative flowering. Fast growing (up to 80 cm per year), the plant will flower in its first year and would prefer occasional watering in summer, though less so in winter.

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  New foliage growth in spring
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  Overview of Tetradenia riparia in cultivation in a garden
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  Inflorescence of Tetradenia riparia
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  Detail of the inflorescence of Tetradenia riparia
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  Flowering cuttings of Tetradenia riparia
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  Purple-flowering variety
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  Tetradenia riparia in its natural habitat in Louwsburg (KwaZulu-Natal)
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  Tetradenia riparia in situ at 1600 m altitude (near Ribáuè in the north of Mozambique)

• Media related to Tetradenia riparia at Wikimedia Commons