Sterculia alexandri, the Cape star chestnut, is a small tree, a rare species commonly growing to 4 m, rarely 8 m tall (SA Tree List No 473).

The species distribution is restricted to parts of the Eastern Cape near Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage, notably in the Van Stadens River gorge and in the Baviaanskloof near the Kouga Dam.

The tree’s habitat is forested riverbanks or scrub thickets in steep gorges and on sheer slopes. It is considered vulnerable in habitat early in the twenty first century (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Gledhill, 1981; http://www.iucnredlist.org/).