African Tree Essences

The White Pear Apodytes dimidiata: full information page

Family: ICACINACEAE

A stately evergreen tree, the white pear can grow with a long straight trunk to over twenty meters in height under forest conditions; rocky and exposed sites result in small, gnarled and compact specimens. Easily adapted, it is found from the Cape Province in southern Africa to Ethiopia in the north.

The white pear bears a profusion of sweetly scented white flowers and their sweet vanilla scent perfumes the warm summer months. These are followed by the fruit – an asymmetrical black drupe with a red, fleshy appendage. The bark is a pale gray on young trees and it is often covered by white and orange lichens at Platbos. The branches and trunks turn a darker gray as the tree ages.

The timber of the white pear has been prized since the first days of colonization for its strong, elastic qualities. It was much sought after by wagon builders and as a result most of the country’s finest trees were logged out. It is a valued wood for furniture making and it has also been used for flooring, veneering, paneling, rifle stocks and engraving for printing.

Traditionally the root bark is used to treat intestinal parasites and the leaves are used as a remedy for ear infections. The white pear is also revered for it protective powers and it is said to ward off evil spirits. The Department of Biology at the University of Kwazulu Natal has identified compounds found in its leaves as a potential molluscicide for the snails involved in the lifecycle of bilharzia.

The white pear is a protected tree in South Africa. They make beautiful specimen, shade trees and they also prune well so can be grown as dense, screening hedges. The roots are non-invasive and they are fast growing trees.