Turraea streyi rediscovered

Text by Lloyd Mhlongo, Photos by G Grieve

In the course of my studies in ethnobotany, I spend a great deal of time in the field, exploring different areas and recording plants of interest. In 2015 when I was recording useful plants of Amandawe near Scottburgh, my main aim was to take photographs of anything in flower so that I could identify it later. On my way home it got dark while I was still in the field, with approximately 8 km to go.  Next to a footpath I came across a plant with a white flower and I took a few photos but in the poor light and being in a hurry, the resulting photos were so out of focus that I could not identify the plant.  Not long after that, I found the same little white flower in another area closer to my home.  I managed to get a decent photograph but still didn’t know what it was. On a return visit to that site I was greeted by a green mamba and made a hasty retreat home without investigating further. 

Turraea streyi

During 2019, it was my intention to capture all the plants in the Meliaceae family and after I had seen the fascinating Turraea floribunda, I realised I was missing the rest of the Turraea species. I was excited when I came across T. pulchella in flower and it triggered something in my head, reminding me that the flower looked familiar. I revisited my archives and realised the flowers were similar to the ones I had seen in 2015 but the morphology of the plants was different. My conclusion was that it could only be Turraea streyi.  To my surprise I discovered that this species is almost extinct in the wild and is classified as Critically Endangered in the SANBI Red Data List of South African plants (Von Staden 2007). In my days at the environmental management company, Natural Scientific Services, such discoveries would be the topics at tea time!

Then I remembered that I had seen similar flowers in two other locations so I went through my archives again! Unfortunately, the first set of photos I looked at showed that plant was something else but in the second case I had a clear photo of what seemed to be T. streyi.  I sent photos to Kate Grieve who agreed with my identification and then shared them with Geoff Nichols for confirmation. The result came back positive: these were T. streyi and so a date was made to look for the plants during the expected flowering time.

In November 2020, Kate and Graham Grieve organised a revisit to one of the sites to see if it was still there. We could not find the plant along the footpath where it was seen initially but a few metres further down we found it growing like a weed. A total of approximately 50 to 100 plants were growing in separate clumps along the footpaths and on woodland margins. 

Turraea streyi habitat; it was found here growing on the fringes of the wooded drainage line

The family that owns the land was notified about this discovery at the edge of their crop field. Young family members were shown the plant and its significance was explained to them. They enthusiastically joined in the search for additional plants. They were asked kindly to keep an eye on these precious plants and in particular not to disturb them, because they are so close to the house and could be compromised by bush clearing if the crop field is extended. This family, our “Turraea Trustees”, duly promised to look after the plants. In the Zulu culture it is customary to acknowledge and show gratitude to parties involved. Therefore, our trustee family and another family where we park the vehicle for safe keeping, were given gifts in appreciation for their cooperation and help.  

Voucher specimens were collected for lodging at the Natal Herbarium and the field data will be submitted to CREW.

The author together with Kate and Graham Grieve at the site where the Turraea streyi plants were found

It is encouraging to know that for now T. streyi is still doing quite well in its natural habitat. However, the known population is currently between 50 and 100 plants only and have no formal protection. Thus, the future prospects for this species remain uncertain.

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