Cliffortia ilicifolia

Cliffortia ilicifolia, commonly known in Afrikaans as doringtee (thorn tea) or Jankoensedoring (Jan Koen’s thorn), is an erect shrub that sprouts after fire and reaches 2 m in height.

The species distribution is in the south of the country from the Cape Peninsula to around Gqeberha. This plant was seen in the Langkloof.

The habitat is mainly variable fynbos and renosterveld on seasonally damp sandstone slopes. There are three recognised varieties of this species, all in the south and none of which is considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century.

The plant served as a tea substitute early in the Cape Colony days. Known products that were hard to find developed surrogates from what was locally available, or several of those with variable success (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Privett and Lutzeyer, 2010; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; http://redlist.sanbi.org).