Schotia capitata aka Dwarf Schotia

Schotia capitata is in Fabaceae, the pea and bean family. The RHS gives dwarf boerboon as a common name. Its home range spans southern tropical Africa and southern Africa. Records list Zimbabwe and southern Mozambique as part of this range. They also list eastern South Africa and Eswatini. It is not native to Britain or Ireland. Kew places it in the seasonally dry tropical biome. This means a broad climate zone, not a garden hardiness rating.

This evergreen woody plant grows as a shrub or slender tree. It has many stems, not always one clear trunk. Useful Tropical Plants gives a height of about 16 feet [5 metres]. Its fuller account gives a top height of 23 feet [7 metres]. The sources give no usual height range for garden plants. Some plants take on a climbing form as they grow. They can also form large thickets of tangled stems. So one neat tree shape does not fit every plant. The sources give no measured width for full-grown plants.

In the wild, it grows near rivers and on sandy plains. It also grows in dry woodland and scrub forest. Records also place it in thornveld and bushveld. These records reach heights of about 984 feet [300 metres]. Its range thus takes in river edges and dry, woody sites. But these records do not show how to water garden plants. Nor do they show which garden soil or light it prefers. The sources give no frost limit or hardiness zone.

People sometimes grow this plant for its looks. The accounts focus on its evergreen growth and branching form. They do not describe its flowers, fruit or bark. They give no leaf details apart from its evergreen habit. Useful Tropical Plants lists seed as a way to grow new plants. It gives no sowing steps or time for seeds to sprout. The same source says this legume does not fix nitrogen from the air. Gardeners should not assume it does based on its family alone.

People sometimes take wood from wild plants for local use. They use some of this wood to make furniture. Useful Tropical Plants lists no known food or medicinal uses. It also reports no known hazards, but gives no safety test results. That claim alone does not prove safety for people or pets. The sources do not name any pests or diseases.