This small to medium-sized, deciduous tree or straggly shrub is
suitable for a small maintenance-free garden. The bark often helps
to distinguish it from other species, for it is papery and smooth,
peeling off horizontally and leaving ring-like scars below. When
new, these have a surface like the finest satin.
are four varieties (var. abyssinica, var. arborescens,
var. collina, var. frutescens) of this variable, widely
distributed tree. Heteromorpha arborescens var. abyssinica
= Heteromorpha trifoliata. The parsley tree has several distinctive
features. The bark is smooth and shiny and peels off in horizontal
flakes. The leaves are variable in size and shape and may be simple
to variously compound. They are light green to grey-green and may
turn yellow and red before falling in autumn. When crushed they
smell of parsley or parsnips, hence the common name.
The small green or yellow flowers are strong-smelling, inconspicuous
and arranged in umbels, i.e. all the stalks arise from the same
point. Flowering times are December-January. The small, winged fruits
have two wings on the one side and three wings on the other side
and they are creamy brown and form from April onwards.
It occurs in wooded grassland, bushveld and on forest margins. It
is fairly widespread in the eastern regions of South Africa, from
the southern Cape up through Eastern Cape and eastern Free State,
Kwazulu-Natal, Swaziland into Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Limpopo. It
also occurs further north in Africa.
of name and historical aspects
Heteromorpha refers to the Greek word meaning different
forms, for it assumes a different guise from area to area over a
large part of the African continent, and arborescens refers to its
tree-like habit. Apiaceae is a family with about 257 genera and
over 2 250 species spread throughout the temperate regions of the
world. In South Africa it is represented by about 30 genera. This
family has played a considerable role in the lives of humans because
many species have food and medicinal value. Parsley, celery, carrots,
caraway and aniseed, just to mention a few, belong to it.
There are few species of trees that bear sometimes simple and sometimes
compound leaves, and this is one of them (Palmer & Pitman 1973).
In the Cape many wild parsley trees have simple leaves, whereas
those to the north tend to have pinnate leaves with three, five
or seven leaflets. The leaves are also very variable in size and
Use and cultural aspects
The main use of the plant is to treat abdominal pains and intestinal
worms in children with an infusion of leaves used as an enema (Palmer
& Pitman 1973). It is also used to treat nervous and mental
disorders. A decoction of the root is used to treat shortness of
breath, coughs and dysentery. Smoke from the burning plant is inhaled
to treat headaches. The tree is planted with charm intent in every
lekhotla (meeting) in Free State, Basutoland. It is also planted
in the kraals of chiefs in Lesotho to ensure the loyalty of the
The timber is very soft and decays so rapidly that it is poor
fuel. The Xhosas make musical bows of it (Pooley 1993). In the Okavango
territory, Africans use the roots as an aphrodisiac.
Growing Heteromorpha arborescens
Heteromorpha arborescens grows easily from seed sown in
early summer (October till December). The seed needs to be thinned
out and sown in a plug tray in a sowing medium of one part compost
to one part river sand. Keep the plug tray in a shady area. Water
every second day: do not allow the sowing medium to dry out. The
seed starts to germinate after about two weeks. After three months
the seedlings can be transplanted in a medium of red clay soil (8
spades), coarse river sand (4 spades) and one bag compost (30 cubic
decimetres). Mix well (Chris Mynhardt pers. comm.).
Another method of propagation is by means of cuttings even though
these may be lying around on the ground for a month or so before
being planted (Carr 1994). From what I have seen in the garden many
of the seedlings grow under other trees. Once established, the plants
are frost and drought resistant, making them ideal for an inland
- Carr, J.D. 1994. The propagation and cultivation of indigenous
trees and shrubs on the Highveld, Natal. Sandton Nature Conservation
Society and the Tree Society of Southern Africa.
- Coates Palgrave, M. 2002. Keith Coates Palgrave Trees of
southern Africa, edn 3. Struik, Cape Town.
- Palmer, E. & Pitman, N. 1973. Trees of southern Africa.
Balkema, Cape Town.
- Pooley, E. 1993. The complete field guide to trees of Natal,
Zululand and Transkei. Natal Flora Publications Trust.
- Van Wyk, B-E., Van Oudtshoorn, B. & Gericke, N. 1997.
Medicinal plants of South Africa. Briza Publications, Pretoria.
- Van Wyk, Braam & Van Wyk, Piet. 1997. Field guide to
trees of southern Africa. Struik, Cape Town.
Free State National Botanical Garden