notsung, noun

Forms:
Also nutseng, nutzung, and with initial capital.
Origin:
Afrikaans, German, KhoikhoiShow more Afrikaans, ultimate origin unknown; perhaps from German nutzung usufruct (see quotation 1966); or from an unidentified Khoikhoi name.
The tree or shrub Halleria lucida of the Scrophulariaceae, an evergreen bearing orange-red flowers and brown or black edible berries; also called ouhout (sense a). Also attributive.
Note:
Parts of the notsung tree are used for medicinal purposes.
Note:
In F. von Breitenbach’s Nat. List of Indigenous Trees (1987), the name ‘tree fuchsia’ is used for this species.
1913 C. Pettman Africanderisms 343Nutseng or Nutzung, Halleria elliptica.
1961 Palmer & Pitman Trees of S. Afr. 321The notsung, as Halleria lucida is most commonly known, has a tremendously wide distribution in South Africa. It reaches from Tanganyika southwards through the northern Transvaal to the Cape Peninsula, as a shrub in dry shallow soil, as a scrambler, or as a tree up to some 40 feet in forest.
1966 C.A. Smith Common Names 353Nutseng (nutzung), Halleria elliptica...According to Marloth, the vernacular name was assigned to the plant by early German foresters who were employed by the Cape Government, and means ‘usufruct’...Perhaps here applied both in the legal and literal senses in that the foresters had the free use of the wood and fruits, as opposed to others for which a permit was issued.
1973 M.R. Levyns in Std Encycl. of Sn Afr. VIII. 235Notsung, Tree fuchsia. Wild fuchsia. Ouhout. Kinderbessie. Wit Olienhout. Wit Olyf. (Halleria lucida) Shrub or small tree belonging to the family Scrophulariaceae and therefore not in fact a fuchsia. It is common in most parts of South Africa in places with a moderately high rainfall.
1990 Weekend Post 19 May (Leisure) 7Halleria lucida (notsung tree or tree fuchsia) and Halleria elliptica (wild fuchsia) were plentiful in the ground and in containers.
The tree or shrub Halleria lucida of the Scrophulariaceae, an evergreen bearing orange-red flowers and brown or black edible berries; also called ouhout (sense a). Also attributive.
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19131990