The
Zulu name for the tree is
umdlebe and its toxic properties are described in their
oral tradition. In 1828
Zulu Kingdom troops attacked the lands of
Soshangane to their north. Messengers returning to King
Shaka are said to have reported: Shaka's half-brother
Dingana returned secretly from the campaign to assassinate him, leaving many of the other warriors to die The Zulu also refer to
E. cupularis as
umbhulelo: a harmful poison or medicine used in a trap, of which
umdlebe is one, or an ingredient of one. Used by witches, it is usually considered wholly vile, any association with
umdlebe is proof the person in question is an
umthakathi: one who secretly uses evil medicine or charms. Missionary
Henry Callaway, living near the
Umkomazi River recorded stories of the magical and spiritual power of the
umdlebe tree in
The Religious System of the Amazulu. He guesses the tree is "probably a kind of aspen" and reminds him of the
upas of
Java, but that "much that is said about it is doubtless fabulous and wholly untrustworthy." An additional report appeared in an 1882 note in the journal
Nature written by Reverend G. W. Parker, a missionary in Madagascar. He describes two types: a small, shrub-like form, and a larger tree with two layers of bark—a dead outer layer, and a new living layer that grows beneath it; both are described as having red and black fruit and brittle, glossy, lanceolate leaves. Parker notes the
umdhlebe is reported to grow in a variety of habitats, but to prefer rocky ground and that due to superstition, the area around the tree is never inhabited despite often being fertile'. Responding to Parker's letter, a writer identified only as 'H.M.C.' proposed that the word 'umdhlebe' is a derivative of the Zulu root
hlaba, and speculated that the legend may have its origin in accounts of one or more members of the
spurge family. ==References==