Hop Bush
Dodonaea viscosa
Photographed near Malindi, Kenya. January 2012.
Hop Bush is a cosmopolitan tropical and subtropical plant. It is a common plant in the Sonoran Desert as well as seasonally dry areas of Kenya. It is a leafy shrub with usually many branches from near base. It responds readily to pruning and sculpting by garders and is a fairly common hedge plant. Other common names include Sand Olive and Hop-seed Bush.
The leaves are shiny green with more or less resinous coating. The flowers are mostly small and inconspicuous with reddish or cream color. They are borne in tight panicle clusters. Eventually the fruits develop conspicuous papery wings that can be more showy than the flowers. The wood is hard and durable.