Cape May, Confetti Bush, Aasbos (Coleonema album):  What does it look like?
  • Cape May is a type of buchu that grows in coastal areas.
  • It has small needle-like leaves and small white flowers like tiny stars.
  • The buchus belong to the same plant family as citrus fruits like lemons and oranges. They have oil glands that look like tiny spots under the leaves. These glands produce fragrant oil that gives buchu its strong smell.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cape May, Confetti Bush, Aasbos (Coleonema album):  How do we use it?

  • Fishermen rub their hands in the leaves of Cape May to hide the smell of bait. This is where its Afrikaans name Aasbos comes from.

  • In the past, the Khoe and San used fragrant herbs like the buchus on their bodies. They rubbed animal fat mixed with dried, powdered aromatic plants into the skin. In addition to being perfumed, the herbs probably also had an antibiotic effect.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click the links to find out more about indigenous plants used for healing and beauty:
 
Cape May (Coleonema album)
Mountain Buchu (Agathosma betulina)
Carpet Geranium (Geranium incanum)
Rose-Scented Pelargonium (Pelargonium capitatum)
Sour Fig (Carpobrotus edulis)