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The name needs dealing with first. Freshly cut White Stinkwood smells unpleasant, which is where it comes from, and it has nothing to do with true Stinkwood, Ocotea bullata.
The tree itself is one of the loveliest we have. Through winter it stands bare, showing smooth pale grey-white bark and an intricate branch structure fanning upward. Then, often before anything else has moved, it opens the freshest lime-green leaves of the year. For a lot of South Africans this tree is the signal that spring has arrived.
The flowers are tiny and green and nobody notices them. The small yellow-brown berries that follow are a serious draw for mousebirds, bulbuls, barbets, starlings and rameron pigeons, and for monkeys where they occur. The leaves feed the larvae of several butterfly species, and browsing game work the lower branches hard.
The timber is pale, tough and elastic rather than decorative. It went into yokes, wagon tent-bows, tool handles and sporting goods, the jobs that call for wood which bends before it breaks. White Stinkwoods stand in old farmyards, dorp squares and church grounds across the country, many of them planted a century ago by someone who wanted quick shade and got something better.
Plant it in full sun. Water moderately while young and very little afterwards, since established trees ride out dry seasons without help. Prune the young tree to a strong central stem and then leave it alone. Allow ten metres of clearance from buildings, walls and drains, because it gets big quickly and the roots go looking for water. Use it in a large garden, a park, a school ground or a street with room to spare, and consider it for restoration planting, where its speed and tolerance are hard to beat. Expect seedlings, since it self-seeds freely.
We plant White Stinkwood at both Uilenkraal and Mistbelt as one of our fast-growing pioneer species, its speed and tolerance for a wide range of soils and conditions make it a reliable early performer across different sites and terrains. Left to establish, it self-seeds freely, helping the forest regenerate on its own once the initial planting has taken hold. Its berries also draw mousebirds, bulbuls, barbets, and pigeons into the site early in the restoration process, while its leaves support several butterfly species, adding real ecological activity to a young forest well before the canopy has fully closed.
A Tree Card funds real tree planting in one of Greenpop's restoration projects. Browse our full range of designs, for any occasion, and find the right one for you.
