Woolly caper bush

Woolly caper bush (Capparis tomentosa): This is a tree-like shrub which can grow up to 6m high in the dry woodlands of the Zambezi Region (formerly the Caprivi Strip) and near to the Kavango River. They often grow on termite mounds and floodplains as well. The rough bark is yellowish in colour and mature branches are equipped with a pair of sharp, hooked spines at every node. Leaves are light green to grey-green, fringed with hairs and a hair-like tip. Large flowers have yellowish-green petals with numerous white to pinkish stamens that bloom from July to November. Large round berries hang from a pendulous stalk and change to a yellow-orange to brownish colour when mature the seeds staying inside the fruit.

The roots are believed to be poisonous. Livestock browse on the leaves and many species of butterfly are attracted to their flowers and leaves including Whites and Tips. Medicinal uses include curing colds, treatment of snakebites, infertility and impotence. If you mix a concoction of powdered roots and other magical substances, paste them to the end of a stick and point them towards a group of cumulus nimbus clouds, the storm will disappear!