Africa boasts an incredibly diverse plant kingdom, offering a treasure trove of species with various uses, from culinary delights to medicinal remedies. This article explores some of the most notable indigenous plants of Africa, highlighting their unique characteristics and cultivation tips.
The iconic African Baobab Tree
Navigating the South African Indigenous Plant Catalogue
Random Harvest’s South African Indigenous Plant Catalogue is a purpose-built resource for landscapers and gardeners alike. It is an ever-growing collection of the plants indigenous to South Africa, that we grow or have grown in the past.
- ATTRIBUTES: Select attributes for these plants (e.g. winter flowering, tall tree, butterfly host plant, bird friendly etc.) to fine-tune a selection of plants that will most suit your gardening requirements.
- SEARCH BUTTON: If you know what you are looking for, type in the name of the plant and click on the search button (magnifying glass). This function does require correct spelling of the plant name. You can enter the Genus and species, or one or the other, or a common name to search for a plant. This search facility can also be used to search on specific words, e.g.
- REQUEST A QUOTE: You are also able to build a request for a quote on plants that you would like for your garden project.
This catalogue is a work in progress.
Popular Houseplants with African Roots
You may be surprised to learn that some of the most popular houseplants in the world are actually rooted in the motherland, that’s right, Africa. Today, we are featuring a few plants that are native to the continent of Africa.
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- Sansevieria (Snake Plant): One of the most favored houseplants for its easy low maintenance and care, the Sansevieria (aka The Snake Plant), has roots native to Africa and can be found from West Africa to Madagascar. Some of the 70+ plant varieties can also be found in Southern Africa. Snake Plants are renowned for their air purification qualities, as they remove toxins such as formaldehyde and xylene from the atmosphere. They make perfect bedroom plants, too, as they remove carbon dioxide and produce oxygen mostly at night.
- Zebra Haworthia: The Zebra Haworthia is also named Zebra Cactus, although it's a succulent and not a Cacti plant. It was introduced to Europe in 1600 by a group of adventurous collectors and is now a famous household beauty around the world. The Haworthia is a large genus of small succulents native to southern Africa.
- ZZ Plant (Zanzibar Gem): Before 1996, the ZZ plant was probably not known to anyone outside of the continent of Africa. Flash forward to today, and that plant has become one of the most popular indoor and office plants around. The ZZ Plant is known by many names, including Zanzibar Gem, Zuzu Plant, Emerald Palm, and the Eternity Plant. It is a tropical perennial plant native to south-eastern Africa- from southern Kenya to north-eastern South Africa. This is where the plant grew outdoors in its natural habitat for years.
- String-Of-Pearls: Senecio Rowleyanus, commonly known as String-Of-Pearls or String-Of-Beads, is the Aster family’s leafy succulent vine.
- Aloe Vera: Aloe Vera is probably one of the most popular plants when it comes to the Black household due to its medicinal purposes, which date back thousands of years. The Aloe family is found all over Africa, with many species indigenous to South Africa.
- Spider Plant: Spider plants (Chlorophytum Comosum) are called this not because they attract and harbor spiders, but rather because of the little plantlets or offshoots at the ends of long wiry stems resembling spiders.
- Fiddle Leaf Fig: Fiddle Leaf Figs (Ficus Pandurata) was one of the most popular plants and can grow up to 10ft indoors. The story of the Fiddle Leaf Fig plant starts along the West African coast. For millions of years, it has been growing in the wild of several West African countries. A native species of Sierra Leone and Cameroon, the plant flourishes in the lowland tropical rainforest.
7 ZZ Plant Care Tips That You Need to Know - Houseplant Care
Edible and Medicinal Indigenous Plants of South Africa
Edible indigenous plants offer a great way to eat well and garden sustainably. Planting these indigenous edibles into your garden gives you easy access to fresh flavors that, at the same time, can handle our harsh South African climate as they are water-wise and easier to maintain than your classic herb or veg. This makes it much simpler to connect to your food and the rhythm of nature in a fresh and wild way and enjoy playing with new recipes using these ingredients picked on your doorstep.
We have a treasure trove of edible and medicinal plants within our rich plant kingdom in South Africa. It is important to know what part of the plant to use and how it can be used for culinary concoctions; some are edible only in certain seasons or after certain preparations.
Examples of Edible Indigenous Plants:
| Plant Name | Description | Growing Tips | Culinary/Medicinal Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Showy Pelargonium | This showy pelargonium grows to a height of one metre and flowers beautifully in post-fire years. | A shady position, compost and a bit of water in summer will keep this fast-growing pelargonium happy. | |
| False Buchu | Known as false buchu, this lovely shrub grows to one metre or more in height and width. | They like well-drained soil and a bit of compost, and they prefer a sunny position, although they do tolerate light shade. As with all fynbos, a mulch of compost or bark is beneficial as it keeps the shallow root system cool. | The whole plant is edible, and it has a nice, sharp taste. |
| Oxalis | We all take this lovely spring flower for granted. It occurs naturally in the Western Cape and doesn’t have to be planted. | It regrows from little underground corms as soon as the rains start. It responds well to a bit of compost and a sunny position, although a bit of shade doesn’t stop them from flowering. | - The stalks and roots can be eaten raw or cooked in milk. |
| Unknown | This hardy shrub has delicate-looking foliage and can be used effectively in a herbaceous border. | It is easy to grow, drought resistant and responds well to being composted. It should be pruned hard after flowering to keep it looking good. | |
| Unknown | This reasonably slow-growing summer rainfall coastal shrub grows best in nutrient-rich soil. It is often used as a windbreak or a security hedge plant but also stands very well on its own. It is drought-resistant and grows up to two metres. | - The roots have a very pungent garlic flavor (so use them sparingly) and can be used like regular garlic. | |
| Unknown | This excellent border plant has bluish-green leaves. It flowers profusely if watered through the summer months with attractive mauve flowers. | It is easy to grow and is reported to keep moles away. | |
| Jasmine | This plant has two forms - a scrambling shrub and a creeper. Both have beautifully scented large white jasmine flowers with a pink reverse from August to November. They are naturally widespread in summer rainfall areas. | ||
| Unknown | This fast-growing succulent ground-cover flowers from August to October. The large flowers are yellow but turn pink with age. | ||
| Unknown | This easy-to-grow herb is found naturally from the Cape to Lesotho. | - A delicious herb in cooking as it works well with veg and pasta dishes, chicken, sauces, stews and roasts. | |
| Unknown | It is a hardy coastal shrub and grows in sandy coastal soils. It forms a good windbreak and is an excellent pioneer plant. | ||
| Unknown | This metre-high, hardy shrub grows in coastal dunes and limestone soils of the Southern Cape, giving the ‘holiday’ smell to the Knysna area. |
PLEASE NOTE: Good Hope Gardens Nursery and Veld and Sea cannot take any responsibility for any adverse effects of using plants.
Selection of medicinal plants
Additional Notes
The following list - which I’ve compiled and tweaked for over thirty years, and represents a huge portion of my own garden - is incomplete, and includes some plants which are also native to the nearby Middle East and India. Note: To keep it simple I’m generalizing here - not distinguishing between those from northern areas along the Mediterranean, sub-Saharan, or South Africa. Anyone really interested in more detail, contact me here.
Read also: A closer look at Africa
These herbaceous plants are able to live for several or more years, as long as nothing catastrophic happens to them.
Interestingly, though there was a pretty good trade between Native Americans before Europeans entered the picture, a few important plants from South America came to North America by way of Africa. Main thing is, today’s American flower and food gardens wouldn’t be the same without these favorites from African continent.
Keep track, we continue to add plants and categories each week. Depending on your garden style, knowledge, and experience, these categories allow you to find a range of plants suitable for your specific needs. A gardener whose garden is designed mainly around wildlife interaction may require companion plants, a grassland corner, forest -edge, or wildlife pond.
Each category page gives you an overview of the plants that fall within it, ordered by subcategories - trees, shrubs, etc, and in some cases, sun and shade within the subcategories. Plants are limited to those listed in our database.
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