Dais cotinifolia
Dais cotinifolia, known as the pompom tree, is a small Southern African tree belonging to the Thymelaeaceae family. It occurs along the east coast northwards from the Eastern Cape, inland along the Drakensberg escarpment through KwaZulu-Natal and the Transvaal, with an isolated population in the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe. It flowers profusely during the summer months and produces a multitude of pink, sweet-scented, globular flowerheads about 8 cm across.
Description
Dias cotinifolia is a small tree of up to 6m in height, with a rounded, leafy crown. In cultivation, its height and span only reach 2-3m in the UK and can reach up to 4 metres in Australia.It has small ovate-oblong shaped and lustrous leaves up to 5cm long. It is evergreen in mild climates and deciduous in cool climates. In spring, or in the summer, it bears scented star-shaped rose-lilac, or pink coloured flowers, in round clusters 8 cm across. The bark is tough and fibrous and the branchlets are difficult to break.
Uses
Used as an ornamental in gardens, can be grown as a small tree or multi-stemmed shrub.It prefers full sun and in fertile and well drained soils.
Its bark yields fibres that are strong enough to be used as thread.