The Ancient Rhythms of Berzelia albiflora

Coffee on the Breez

What joy to walk the Rockjumper Road (smallholdings) in the morning. You get the sea, the mountain, the fynbos, the marshes on peaty sandstone — and then, quite unexpectedly the faint aroma of coffee. That would be Berzelia albiflora, also called coffee-scented bush, even though it is not a coffee plant.

A crown of flowers

The knobs have green scale-like leaves with a touch of black and silver. In late summer, the knobs open and hundreds of small white flowers start blooming in a ring from the outside towards the centre, creating a little crown. Each flower has yellow stamens.

A feast of pollen and nectar

It becomes wonderfully busy around these flowerheads: sunbirds flit from one “canteen” to the next, while sugarbirds perch on the flowerheads, working the tiny flowers with enthusiasm. Bees and beetles buzz around them, and the air fills with joy.

Who plants the seeds?

The dry seed heads remain on the branches for years. The seeds are only released when the parent plant is killed by fire. Then, with the first good rains, the growing cycle starts all over again.

The dinosaurs knew them

The Bruniaceae is an ancient family. Fossil pollen deposits from between 65 and 90 million years ago were discovered in Namaqualand. The dinosaurs disappeared, but we still have the bruniaceae. 

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