Striking up a Fever:

Possibly one of the most striking features of Ubizane is the Fever Tree forest at Zululand Tree Lodge, we have spoken many times about the nest that are built in its branches and even the high tea that is hosted amongst it. It got me thinking, how these beautiful trees got its unusual name? For those more technically inclined you might know the fever tree as Acacia xanthophloe, which is its scientific name but the Fever Tree does quite fine for the rest of us.  

The pioneers believed that Fever Trees were the cause of malaria outbreaks, as the swampy marshes where the Fever Trees grew were ideal breeding grounds for the Anopheles mosquitoes, which are responsible for malaria.

It was eventually proved that Fever Trees had absolutely nothing to do with malaria. The only thing the wrongfully accused Fever Trees shared with the real malaria culprits, the female Anopheles mosquitoes, is a love of swampy areas. 

 

Nevertheless the story goes that locals would lie down in the shade of the tree to escape the burning sun. Invariably, they would fall asleep and would wake up covered in mosquito bites which would often lead to the onset of malaria. Thus the myth was born and the Fever Tree got its name.