Coastal Red Milkwood (Mimusops caffra) is pinkish red, close-grained, heavy, hard, strong and elastic. It has fiddles in the pattern, which add to its beauty for furniture and turning.
In Zululand it is considered as a royal timber tree of excellent quality. It is durable when exposed to water and therefore suitable for boat building, as well as the framework of the large, conical fish traps used by the local people in northern Zululand. The wood is also used for various household utensils and ornaments.
Bark and roots have medicinal value and are used to cure broken bones, to treat fevers, to dispel bad dreams, and to treat gall sickness in stock.
The red milkwood is sometimes called the ‘walking tree’, because growing on the sand as it does, it is easily blown over and where it touches the ground it roots to form new trees.
In South Africa, the town Mtunzini’s name is derived from the Zulu word “Emthunzini” meaning "at the umthunzi (milkwood) tree" or "in the shade of the umthunzi tree". In the case of the town of Mtunzini it refers specifically to John Dunn's Indaba Tree, a large coastal red milkwood tree in the Umlalazi Reserve
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