DOMBEYA BURGESSIAE SEEDS - PINK WILD PEAR - INDIGENOUS TREE IN SOUTH AFRICA

Dombeya is a flowering plant genus of around 250 species. Traditionally included in the family Sterculiaceae, it is included in the expanded Malvaceae in the APG and most subsequent systematics. These plants are known by a number of vernacular names which sometimes, misleadingly, allude to the superficial similarity of flowering Dombeya to pears or hydrangeas, which are unrelated. They grow chiefly throughout Africa and Madagascar. The generic name Dombeya is in honour of Joseph Dombey, a French botanist and traveller in Peru and Chile (1742-1793).           Dombeya burgessiae commonly known as the Pink Wild Pear is a South African indigenous species. It is a garden favourite used by many gardeners and landscapers for its profusion of pink to white flowers borne in dense clusters which occur from late summer to early winter. The pretty flowers persist on the plant when they are finished flowering to provide an attractive display of light russet brown flowers which may also be used in dry flower arrangements.