Schotia brachypetala is a handsome medium sized tree with a low branching habit and an attractive, wide spreading rounded crown. It is a decorative garden tree with an exceptional flower display. The waxy, crimson flowers and copious nectar attract a wide variety of birds and insects. After flowering large seed pods develop which burst open when ripe and attract parrots and brown headed loeries (tauraco) that come to eat the seeds. The seeds are large, light brown and have a distinctive yellow aril attached to them. The tree is evergreen in warmer regions but deciduous in frosty areas. The common name of 'Weeping boer-bean' is derived from the abundant nectar produced by the flowers. Young trees need to be protected from frost. Growth is quite slow, especially when young, but growth rate increases as tree gets older.
Scotia brachypetala has quite a few other names too which help describe it.
- Parrot Tree – the nectar attracts a lot of birds
- Drunken Parrot Tree – excess nectar ferments and can have a mild narcotic effect on some birds
- Weeping Boerbean – the name we use here – weeping due to the nectar dripping and bean because it is a leguminous tree
- Huilboerboon – is the Afrikaans name (huil = cry)
- Tree Fuchsia – totally different family to the fuchsia but has similar flowers (ballerina flowers)
- African Walnut – the roasted seeds are edible
Not only is Schotia brachypetala an exceptional ornamental tree, it also has a number of other uses: A decoction of the bark is taken to treat heartburn and hangovers (good to know :-) ). Bark and root mixtures are used to strengthen the body and purify the blood, to treat nervous heart conditions and diarrhoea, as well as for facial saunas. The seeds are edible after roasting, Both the Bantu-speaking people and the early European settlers and farmers are said to have roasted the mature pods and eaten the seeds, a practice which they learned from the Khoikhoi. The bark can be used for dyeing, giving a red-brown or red colour.