Dombeya rotundifolia Tree Seeds ~ Wild Pear, Drolpeer - Indigenous

Dombeya rotundifolia Seeds

This lovely tree gets its English common name from the masses of white blooms which appear before the leaves in early spring. It bears a resemblance to a true pear (Pyrus communis) in full flower. It is no relation of the pear tree, which is in the Rose family (Roseaceae) like the peach and apricot.

Like other Dombeya species the flowers remain on the tree until after the fruit capsules have formed in the centre of each flower. The petals turn brown and become dry and light. Once the fruit is ripe and falls from the tree, the petals act as wings and float it away. The wild pear grows in woodland, wooded grassland and rocky mountain slopes from Kwazulu-Natal northwards to Ethiopia.