Maïté demonstrating silky-leaved, homophonous Maytenus
Despite being called Silky Bark, this tree is best known for its silky leaves. Maytenus acuminata is a common plant in the Little Karoo, making it slightly odd that I find and photograph it in the Harold Porter National Botanical Garden on the coast near Cape Town, rather than in the botanic garden I featured the last two posts.
I was there in August 2018 and the tree was brought to my attention by an excited Maïté Delmas, Chargée de Relations Internationales at the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris, who said it was 'her tree', the genus name being a homophone with her first name.
The tree is 'identified' by, gently, tearing a leaf in two. As with a few other plants (Cornus springs to mind) there are silky connecting threads revealed. The common name isn't incorrect, though, and you can find the same threads if you peel and tear the bark. And, apparently, the fruit.
All rather disruptive to the tree but it seems to handle it well. The flowers are sma…
I was there in August 2018 and the tree was brought to my attention by an excited Maïté Delmas, Chargée de Relations Internationales at the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris, who said it was 'her tree', the genus name being a homophone with her first name.
The tree is 'identified' by, gently, tearing a leaf in two. As with a few other plants (Cornus springs to mind) there are silky connecting threads revealed. The common name isn't incorrect, though, and you can find the same threads if you peel and tear the bark. And, apparently, the fruit.
All rather disruptive to the tree but it seems to handle it well. The flowers are sma…
