The distribution of the Sand olive is pan-tropical and in South Africa it occurs throughout the country except the very dry regions.
Dodonaea viscosa var angustifolia is a fast growing, hardy, multi-stemmed shrub that can reach a height of up to 5m. The bark is angular and reddish in colour on young stems becoming dark grey and finely fissured on mature branches and stems. Leaves are light green, simple, alternate, narrow and sometimes sticky because of resin especially the young leaves. Dodonaea viscosa var angustifolia flowers from April to July and the flowers appear in a branched manner on the terminal heads in the leaf axils. It bears small creamish-yellow flowers. It is followed by pale winged roundish capsules which change colour from yellow to reddish pink with maturity.
The sand olive is popular for its ability to stabilise areas with sandy soils. It is planted as a decorative shrub in small gardens due to its shiny foliage and beautiful pink-red winged fruits. It is also suitable for hedging since it responses well to pruning. It attracts many butterflies and birds to the garden and is frost and drought tolerant. Since the Sand olive is a small tree, the root system is not classified as invasive..
You may find stock of this plant at Random Harvest.
