Xylotheca kraussiana flower

The African dogrose, common name of Xylotheca kraussiana, grows scented white flowers in spring. The usually solitary, somewhat rose-like but undog-like flowers have yellow masses of stamens in a ring around and above the centre. The flower measures about 7 cm in diameter.

The fruit is an ovoid, woody capsule of about 4 cm in diameter. The generic name, Xylotheca, is derived from the Latin words xulon meaning wood and theke meaning a case, referring to the woody fruit, a capsule.

The fruit is longitudinally ridged and contains brown seeds, each attached to a bright red aril over its lower half (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Schmidt, et al, 2002; iNaturalist).