01/09/2026
Celebrate National Arbour Week at Graskop Gorge
South Africa celebrates National Arbor Week from September 1–7, providing an opportunity to appreciate our trees and the important role they play in our environment.
The information about the tree species featured below was supplied by Karl Lane of Mbombela-based Hamilton-Fynch, an environmental interpretation and communications specialist who has worked with the Graskop Gorge Lift Co for about a decade. Hamilton-Fynch has helped develop environmental interpretation at the gorge since the project began.
The Graskop Gorge Forest Trail passes through a dense, natural Afromontane forest ecosystem covering a steep ravine. Around 50 distinct tree species have been officially identified and tagged along the trail.
Here are three rare and resilient trees to look out for on your walk:
AFRICAN CHERRY (PRUNUS AFRICANA)
• Status: Vulnerable (IUCN & South African Red List)
• The story: Its bark is highly prized worldwide for traditional and modern medicine, leading to severe overexploitation.
• The scratch-and-sniff test: If you crush one of its shiny, dark green leaves, it releases a distinct smell of bitter almonds or marzipan.
• The crimson stem: Look closely at the leaf stalk (the petiole) – it has a striking bright pink or red tint that bleeds into the leaf base.
• Built-in bodyguards: The leaves feature tiny, specialised glands that ooze a sweet nectar. This attracts friendly insects that act as a security detail against plant-eating pests.
• Crocodile bark: Older trees look like they are wrapped in reptile skin, thanks to dark brown bark that cracks into a neat, rectangular tile pattern.
REAL YELLOWWOOD (PODOCARPUS LATIFOLIUS)
• Status: Near threatened (IUCN & South African Red List)
• The story: As South Africa’s national tree, this ancient survivor carries a lot of history. It is currently recovering from centuries of heavy colonial logging for its prized, golden timber.
• The neon glow: Older leaves are a leathery, dark hunter green; the fresh spring growth bursts out in clusters of bright green at the very tips of the branches.
• Strap-like style: The leaves look like long, narrow ribbons or straps with bluntly pointed tips. They grow closely together in a unique spiral pattern.
• Peeling out: You can easily spot a mature yellowwood by its khaki-grey bark, which peels away in long, vertical strips like old wallpaper.
• Fleshy ‘cones’: Because it is a conifer, it doesn't have flowers. Female trees produce berry-like seeds that turn a vibrant purple when ripe.
ASSEGAI (CURTISIA DENTATA)
• Status: Near threatened (IUCN & South African Red List)
• The story: This tree is fighting two modern battles: Habitat loss and heavy harvesting for its medicinal bark.
• The spearhead shape: The tree gets its name because its strong, straight branches were used to make assegais. Some say that its sharply pointed, lance-shaped leaves look exactly like the blade of a traditional assegai.
• Shark-tooth edges: Assegai leaves have a heavily textured, coarse-toothed margin.
• Leather & wool: The top of the leaf is leathery, smooth and glossy, but if you flip it over, the underside is light green and covered in a soft layer of rusty-brown, woolly hairs.
• Winter bells: In winter, the tree is covered in clusters of bright white, round fruits that hang from the branch tips like tiny winter bells.
Make a visit part of your Arbour Week. Come and explore the Forest Trail at Graskop Gorge Lift Co, take a closer look at its remarkable trees and discover the diversity of this Afromontane forest for yourself.
📍 Plan your visit to Graskop Gorge and experience the forest up close.
Want to learn more about the tree-name panels at Graskop Gorge? Read the Tourism Update article, ‘New interpretation panels added at Graskop Gorge’: https://www.tourismupdate.com/article/new-interpretation-panels-added-at-graskop-gorge
