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Tag: Butterflies & Moths

Deinbollia Borbonica

Family: Sapindaceae
GIR: Mndalamwaka

Small tree or shrub. Cream flowers and yellow berries.

Propagate from seed.
The flowers attract hordes of insects including; moths, butterflies, bees, wasps, ants and beetles. Monkeys and birds eat the fruit. Charaxes butterflies eat the rotting fruit (needs confirming). The fruit is edible. The plant roots are medicinal.

Deinbollia hosts:

  • Egybolis vaillantina
  • Euphedra neophron
  • Euxanthe wakefieldi
  • Charaxes varanes
  • Various Lycaenid Blues which feed on the maturing
    seeds.
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Zanthoxylum Chalybeum Var. Chalybeum

Family: Rutaceae
ENG: Knobwood
GIR: Mudhungu
TSW: Mjafari

Naturalised in Kenya. Spiny deciduous shrub or tree up to 12 m high- leaves have medicinal use. Has
self seeded in Kilifi. This tree is a larval host plant to Swallowtails. Leaves, shoots and fruits are used for
tea.

The bark leaves and roots are used medicinally, including as a treatment for malaria.

Possibly larval host to:

  • Papilio dardanus – African Mocker Swallowtail
  • Papilio demodocus – Citrus Swallowtail
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Rhodopentas Bussei K. Krause

(Previously Pentas Bussei)
Family: Rubiaceae
GIR: Mangi

Multi-branched shrub 0.6–2.5 m. tall. Sometimes scrambles/ supports itself on other plants Grow on the cliff face and self seeded. Also grow from cuttings.

Red /orange flowers throughout the year. A popular nectar food plant for butterflies.

Rhodopentas parvifolia (Hiern) is also recorded at the coast
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