The Forest bushwillow is a medium-sized to large tree of eastern South Africa, Swaziland and southern Mozambique, which is found within, or in the vicinity of forests. The specific name commemorates Dr. F. Krauss

Christian Ferdinand Friedrich Krauss

Christian Ferdinand Friedrich Krauss , was a German scientist, traveller and collector.-Early life:...

 who made a collecting trip to South Africa in 1838-1840.

The trees are semi-deciduous

Semi-deciduous

Semi-deciduous is a botanical term which refers to plants that lose part of their foliage, also Semi-deciduous plants can mean, that plants can lose their foliage for a very short period, when old leaves fall off and new foliage growth is starting. This phenomenon occurs in tropical and...

, as spring leaves only partially replace old foliage. These forest trees become conspicuous in late spring, when the fresh leaves turn to a pale, almost white colour, before returning to green by mid-summer. In winter the foliage turns partially red or purple, which is shed just before flowering starts. The fresh clusters of four-winged fruit are a colourful red or yellowy red colour, before they dry to mid-brown.

It is closely related to Combretum nelsonii which occurs in rockier habitats, and bears a resemblance to the larger leaved Combretum woodii, which is similarly distributed, but in bushveld.