Tree Fuchsia

Halleria lucida

Also known as Tree Fuchsia, Wild Fuchsia

At a glance

Family

Stilbaceae (formerly grouped with the figworts, Scrophulariaceae)

Type

Evergreen shrub or small forest tree

Parts used

Leaves (traditional external use), flowers and ripe berries (edible)

Size

2 to 8 meters, occasionally taller in old forest

Bloom

Curious tubular orange-red to maroon flowers, often heaviest in winter into early spring, sometimes appearing sporadically most of the year

Habitat

Forest margins, ravines, streambanks, and afromontane woodland across southern and eastern Africa

Acquisition

Grow or buy

This plant in HerbSense

Key benefits

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Traditional earache remedy

Traditional eye soothing wash

Beloved wildlife garden plant

Edible flowers and berries

Traditional uses

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In the forests and gardens of South Africa, the tree fuchsia has long been known as a plant of small, practical comforts. Zulu traditional healers have used a warmed infusion of the leaves as drops for earache and as a gentle wash for sore, inflamed eyes, and the crushed leaves have also been applied as a folk remedy to soothe minor skin irritations. Long before it earned a place in ethnobotanical record books, children learned to pinch the base of its curved orange flowers and suck out the drop of sweet nectar inside, a small forest treat passed down the same way the plant itself has been, quietly and by hand.

How to grow & use it

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🔒

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Traditional remedies and step-by-step preparations, a complete growing guide, and how to harvest, dry, and store it, all unlocked with HerbLens Unlimited.

✦Remedies & preparations
✦ Growing guide
✦Harvest & storage

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Pairs well with

✦African Wormwood (Artemisia afra)
✦Buchu (Agathosma)
✦Cancer Bush (Sutherlandia)

Substitutes

✦Calendula
✦Plantain leaf

Choose it when

“For the shaded forest corner of a garden that wants to hum with sunbirds through the quiet heart of winter.”

Did you know?

The tree fuchsia's tubular flowers often burst straight out of old bare wood, even along the trunk, a rare habit called cauliflory that lets sunbirds reach the nectar through winter when little else in the forest is blooming.

Safety

No significant toxicity is documented for tree fuchsia, but leaf preparations should not be put in the eyes or ears without medical guidance, since that can cause irritation or infection.