6 Nymania capensis Seeds - Chinese lanterns; Klapperbos - South African Indigenous Shrub

Nymania capensis Seeds

Tortoise Berry; Skilpadbessie

Nymania capensis is a 2-3 meter shrub with small narrow leaves & a very upright growth habit. The reddish flowers are not very striking, but they are followed by large inflated cream to red seedpods which are attractively mottled. They resemble Chinese lanterns & contain several large seeds that rattle in the wind (“klapperbos” means “rattle pod”). Nymania is a very tough plant that can take extreme drought, is cold tolerant down to -4° C. & easily handles more than 40°C. It does need to be transplanted carefully and must avoid extreme conditions for a couple of years. In nature it gets protection by germinating under small shrubs that provide shelter while the seedling gets established underground. At first it seems that it will never grow up, but it won’t die either. Then it suddenly takes off and grows very fast, so be patient!