Searsia zeyheri at Dullstroom

Searsia zeyheri, the blue currant, is a shrub or small tree of the northern parts of South Africa (SA Tree List No. 396.1). The trifoliolate leaflets are obovate or elliptic. The leaf surfaces are blue-green, covered in a whitish bloom, leathery and hairless. The small greenish flowers appear in spring and summer, followed by red or brown, ovoid fruits.

The species distribution of this South African endemic lies in the provinces north of the Vaal River. The habitat is stream banks and rocky slopes. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century.

his has become a valued garden subject (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Van Wyk and Van Wyk, 1997; http://redlist.sanbi.org).