Berzelia lanuginosa

The vleiknoppies or vleikolkol grows branched, erect stems to a height of 2 m. Berzelia lanuginosa is internationally called buttonbush in the nursery trade, referring to the flowerhead shape.

The leaves are lime-green, small, soft and narrow, growing in whorls along the stems. The flowers appear in terminal clusters during spring and early summer. The spherical flowers remain cream coloured; some have it that they turn red.

The plant is pollinated by bees, flies and a variety of walking insects. There are no cultural or medicinal uses recorded for this plant (www.plantzafrica.co; Bean and Johns, 2005).