Tarchonanthus littoralis

Tarchonanthus littoralis, the coastal camphor bush, is a dense, bushy shrub or small tree, occasionally becoming large but mostly growing to heights between 4 m and 9 m (SA Tee List. No. 733.2).

The tree often produces multiple stems that are sometimes crooked. Strips of the vertically fissured bark tend to flake from older stems. The young stems are densely hairy. The tree resprouts after fire.

The species was split off from T. camphoratus in 2002, comprising the plants growing naturally along the southern and eastern coasts of South Africa from the Cape Peninsula to KwaZulu-Natal.

The tree grows in diverse habitats, mostly on rocky outcrops, mountain slopes, dunes and along watercourses at low altitude. It is often found in thickets and forests.

Although the original heterogeneous T. camphoratus species was split five-ways, the coastal camphor bush is still prolific, not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2010; www.plantzafrica.com; www.redlist.sanbi.org).