Portulacaria afra

elephant-bush

Elephant bush or small-leaf jade has beautiful foliage and is a popular Bonsai specimen. In its native Africa, elephants are very fond of the plant as a food source. They graze the plant from above and leave enough of the trunk and lower foliage to allow the plant to spread vegetatively along the ground. The leftover branches from feeding can also root to become new plants. Many other wild and domestic animals throughout arid Africa enjoy the foliage as food, as it is nutritious and 80% water. Below is a neat little clip of an elephant enjoying a meal of plants (albeit not this one in particular) with commentary that includes some interesting facts about elephants:

When trimmed regularly, the plant makes a good hedge, as long as the elephants don’t get to it. The plant is useful in binding soil to prevent erosion but its root system is relatively weak and grazing animals easily uproot the plant. In areas of Africa where grass is not plentiful enough to use for thatch roofs, stems of elephant bush are dried, beaten flat with stones, and then overlain to create a makeshift roof that works well enough if it doesn’t rain. Honey made from the flowers of the plant is supposedly particularly delectable. Dried leaves are ground into snuff by natives. The plant can be used as a valuable source of paper pulp but its value for animal forage precludes this use.

Because of their high water content, the leaves are useful for treating dehydration, especially in the plant’s arid habitat. Due to astringent properties, crushed leaves are rubbed on blisters, pimples, insect stings, and rashes to soothe the pain and heal. Chewing the leaves treats sore throats and mouth infections. The plant has been used to increase breast milk for lactating mothers.

A unique botanical aspect of the plant is that it is able to utilize two different photosynthetic pathways depending upon climatic conditions. One method is more effective when moisture is sufficient and the other enables the plant to operate well in dry conditions while using significantly less water. Elephant-bush doesn't need much help to survive - put it in most sunny spots with well-drained soil and it will do just fine. It responds very well to pruning, as it has developed a great capacity to re-sprout after being munched on by elephants.