Brabejum stellatifolium (Wild Almond)

Wilde amandel [Afrikaans]

Life > eukaryotes > Archaeoplastida > Chloroplastida > Charophyta > Streptophytina > Plantae (land plants) > Tracheophyta (vascular plants) > Euphyllophyta > Lignophyta (woody plants) > Spermatophyta (seed plants) > Angiospermae (flowering plants) >  Eudicotyledons >  Order: Proteales >  Family: Proteaceae

Grows into a large bush. Jan van Riebeeck, who started the Dutch settlement at the Cape, planted a hedge of Wild almond in 1960 to keep out the local indigenous people. Plants originating from this hedge can still be seen at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens.

Produces brown, velvety, almond-like fruit. The seeds are toxic because they contain cyanogenic glycosides but these can be leached out by placing the seeds in sacks and running them under water for 'a long time'.