Description
Keurboom
Virgilia divaricata Adamson & Virgilia oroboides (P.J.Bergius) Salter
Family: Fabaceae
Common names: blossom tree, amaqua tree (Eng.); keurboom, amakwasboom (Afr.)
Wildlife
- The flowers of both species are rich in nectar and attract many insects and birds, such as sunbirds, carpenter bees, honey bees and ants.
- Vervet monkeys chew of the leaves and eat the seeds.
- Many birds such as doves and white-eyes nest in them.
- In the forest, the large handsome ghost moth, Leto venus, lays its eggs at the foot of a keurboom so that the hatching caterpillars can bore into the wood.
- The blue butterfly (Lampides boeticus) has been seen to breed primarily on lucerne and on keurboom trees.
Medicinal
- No recorded medicinal properties of this tree to-date.
Practical Uses
- In earlier times the wood was in high demand for yokes.
- It was also used for spars, wagon-bed planks and rafters.
- The wood is popular in furniture-making.
- The transparent gum that exudes from the bark was once used as a substitute for starch.
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Image: kumbulanursery.co.za
