How to Grow and Care for Cyclopia

Bush tea is perhaps best known for the tea that it creates, called honeybush or bush tea in South Africa, where it originates. It has long been a popular tea in South Africa, but has gained more international popularity in recent years, appreciated for its sweet, earthy flavor and scent, and low tannin levels compared to those found in black or green tea.

Honeybush is a low-growing South African shrub with fine, needle-like leaves and yellow pea-like flowers. Its uniqueness lies in its adaptability to thrive in coastal fynbos ecosystems, where it forms dense, rounded mounds. Sun-loving and tolerant of poor, sandy soils, it contributes to the honeybush tea industry with its fragrant blooms.

Cyclopia bolusii is a South African fynbos native bearing intricately-branched stems and minute, yellowish flowers. Its narrow, needle-like leaves reflect adaptability to the dry, nutrient-poor conditions of its mountainous habitat. This perennial shrub's modest stature, generally not exceeding one meter, suits its rugged terrain, showcasing a resilient understory beauty.

Kouga bush tea is a bushy shrub, part of the fynbos biome native to South Africa’s Western Cape region. Recognizable by its yellow, pea-like flowers and fine, needle-like leaves, kouga bush tea typically thrives in coastal and mountainous areas, adapting to nutrient-poor soils. Uniquely, kouga bush tea leaves are harvested to produce honey-flavored Rooibos tea, an infusion beloved for its health benefits.