Schotia brachypetala an exceptional ornamental tree and has a number of other uses including medicine, food, timber and as a dye. The seeds are edible after roasting, and although low in fat and protein they have a high carbohydrate content. Both the Bantu-speaking people and the early European settlers and farmers are said to have roasted the mature pods and eaten the seeds, a practice which they learned from the Khoikhoi. The timber was chiefly used in wagon making.