10 Psychotria capensis Seeds - Black Bird-berry - Indigenous South African Flowering Shrub

Psychotria capensis commonly known as Black Bird-berry, Bird-berry, Bastard Lemonwood or Lemon Bush in English and Swart-voelbessie, Voelbessie, Baster-lemoenhout or Lemoenbos in Afrikaans attract bulbuls, robins and barbets to the garden. It has attractive glossy foliage and showy red and yellow berries. Psychotria capensis is an evergreen shrub or small tree, 3-8 m, with a slender stem, horizontal branches and pale brown bark. The leaves are shiny, light to dark green above and paler below, smooth and leathery. They are fairly large, 70-150 x 15-60 mm, elliptic to obovate, opposite and often drooping. Golden yellow flowers are borne in flattish, terminal branched heads up to 80 mm in diameter from spring to midsummer (August to January). The flowers are followed in late summer to winter (January to July) by large, flat clusters of pea-sized, shiny yellow fruits ripening to red or black. Psychotria is Greek for vivifying, meaning to give or endow with life and refers to the several supposed healing properties of some species; capensis means of the Cape.

The wood is hard and fine-grained making a good general purpose timber. It is yellowish brown in colour and has a beautiful finish when varnished. Medicinally P. capensis is used for gastric complaints and root infusions are taken to cause vomiting. In the Amazon, many species of Psychotria are used by shamans and indigenous people for a variety of medicinal purposes.

On offer is a pack of 10 Seeds