Botanical name |
Sutherlandia frutescens |
Other names |
Cancer bush; kankerbos (Afrikaans); Lessertia frutescens; umnwele (Xhosa and Zulu); phetola (Tswana) |
Family |
Fabaceae |
Dimensions |
Spreading shrub up to 1 m; some of the long branches tend to become prostrate |
Description of stem |
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Description of leaves |
Pinnately compound, feathery leaves; the hairy aspect makes the plant look silvery |
Description of flowers |
Pink to reddish pea-type flowers on short racemes in leaf axils of more than 3 cm appearing in winter or early spring |
Desciption of seed/fruit |
Conspicuous and decorative, inflated papery, pink and greenish-yellow puffed (legume type)seed pods of up to 5 cm |
Description of roots |
As other plants from this family it fixes atmospheric nitrogen in the soil via a symbiotic relationship with bacteria that receive sugars from the plant and deposits the nitrogen in the roots; the plant converts the nitrogen into ammonia that it uses |
Variation |
Several similar species exist which makes identification difficult |
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Propagation and cultivation |
Grows easily from seed, to be watered in winter |
Tolerances |
Copes in a variety of soil types, prefers good drainage; withstands mild frost |
Uses |
Widely used as a medicine, among other things in the treatment of cancer and in pharmaceutical products; grazed; popular garden plant |
Ecological rarity |
Common |
Pests and diseases |
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Other |
A study by the Universities of the |
Location |
In |
Distribution (SA provinces) |
Western, Eastern and |
Country |
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