03/09/2026
To celebrate Arbor Week, we planted three trees in the Century City precinct. The first of which the Wild Olive (Olea europaea subsp. Africana), which has been named the Common Tree of the Year for 2026 by the Dendrological Society of South Africa.
And it’s a fitting choice: the Wild Olive is tough, drought resistant, frost resistant and can handle strong wind, which makes it one of the most resilient trees you can plant in South Africa. It grows into a dense, spreading tree with grey-green foliage, and its small fruit feeds everything from birds to baboons.
That resilience is really the point when we talk about sustainability at Century City. Choosing indigenous, water-wise, low-maintenance species over ornamental exotics is one of the simplest and most effective things any precinct or property can do. It means less irrigation, less strain on resources, and habitat that actually supports local birds and insects instead of working against them.
Alongside the Wild Olive, we’ve planted two more indigenous species that suit Cape Town’s environment particularly well.
Waterberry (Syzygium guineense), also known as waterpear or woodland waterberry, is an evergreen tree that thrives in exactly the kind of moist, low-lying conditions found around the island’s wetlands and waterways. It has a rounded crown, glossy leaves and small fragrant flowers that draw pollinators, followed by edible purple fruit that birds and other wildlife make quick work of.
Fever Tree (Vachellia xanthophloea), previously known as Acacia xanthophloea, is instantly recognisable by its greenish-yellow bark. It naturally grows in swampy, low-lying areas near water, which is why it got its name in the first place. Early settlers thought the tree caused the fever they caught while travelling through these areas. It was actually the mosquitoes breeding in the same wet ground. The fever tree fixes nitrogen in the soil, offers good bee forage when it flowers, and its open, feathery canopy makes it a favourite nesting spot for birds.
