This article is about Dombeya rotundifolia as originally described by Hochstetter

Christian Ferdinand Friedrich Hochstetter

Christian Ferdinand Friedrich Hochstetter was a German botanist and Protestant minister who was a native of Stuttgart. He was the father of geologist Ferdinand Hochstetter ....

. The D. rotundifolia of Bojer

Wenceslas Bojer

Wenceslas Bojer was a notable naturalist and botanist.He was born to Simon Bojer and Barbara Staub....

 is now D. spectabilis.

Dombeya rotundifolia, Dikbas or "South African Wild Pear" (it is not related to pear

Pear

The pear is any of several tree species of genus Pyrus and also the name of the pomaceous fruit of these trees. Several species of pear are valued by humans for their edible fruit, but the fruit of other species is small, hard, and astringent....

 trees), is a small deciduous tree with dark grey to blackish deeply fissured bark, found in Southern Africa

Southern Africa

Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. Within the region are numerous territories, including the Republic of South Africa ; nowadays, the simpler term South Africa is generally reserved for the country in English.-UN...

 and northwards to central

Central Africa

Central Africa is a core region of the African continent which includes Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda....

 and eastern tropical Africa

East Africa

East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...

. Formerly placed in the Sterculiaceae

Sterculiaceae

Sterculiaceae is a botanical name for a group of flowering plants at the rank of family, which is now considered obsolete. As is true for any botanical name, the circumscription, status and placement of the taxon has varied with taxonomic point of view...

, that artificial group has now been abandoned by most authors and the plants are part of an enlarged Malvaceae

Malvaceae

Malvaceae, or the mallow family, is a family of flowering plants containing over 200 genera with close to 2,300 species. Judd & al. Well known members of this family include okra, jute and cacao...

Trees are normally 5–6 m tall with a single well-defined trunk, growing on deep soils, river banks and rocky places. Leaves and flower buds are densely covered in stellate hairs. One of the first species to flower in spring, often with Erythrina lysistemon

Erythrina lysistemon

Erythrina lysistemon is a species of deciduous tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is native to South Africa. Common names include Common Coral Tree, Lucky Bean Tree, Kaffir Boom, Transvaal Kafferboom, Umsintsi , Muvhale , Mophete , Kanniedood , Mokhungwane and Umsinsi...

. Flowers are abundant and sweet-scented, usually white but occasionally pale pink. Small (3–4 mm diameter) inconspicuous round fruits form at the centre of the brown, dead, persistent petals. Wood is bluish-grey, dense, hard and extremely tough, and was sought after during the era of building wagons and carriages.

Most of the cultivated dombeyas are shrubs with attractive pink or white flowers closely related to D. rotundifolia, such as Dombeya burgessiae or Dombeya autumnalis; the latter was described when its habit of flowering during autumn became apparent.

Cultivation and uses

It is drought and frost tolerant, it is popular with beekeeper

Beekeeper

A beekeeper is a person who keeps honey bees for the purposes of securing commodities such as honey, beeswax, pollen, royal jelly; pollinating fruits and vegetables; raising queens and bees for sale to other farmers; and/or for purposes satisfying natural scientific curiosity...

s due to its high nectar production that attracts a multitude of bees and butterflies. Its flowers in showy profuse displays make it a highly valued ornamental tree.