Brachylaena discolor, a fast-growing evergreen tree with a silvery-blue appearance, thrives in windy conditions. It is endemic to coastal woodlands from the Eastern Cape in South Africa to Mozambique, and it naturally grows as a shrub but can be cleared to grow into a specimen tree.

The Coastal silver oak’s leaves are simple, large, leathery, and glossy dark green above, with silvery-white dense hairs below and irregularly toothed margins on older leaves. When the tree is in flower, it displays huge sprays of creamy-white thistle-like flowers, resembling snow in summer. These nectar-rich flowers attract bees, birds, and other insects. Following flowering, the tree produces brown capsules with yellowish, paintbrush-like hairs, which ripen in summer.

This tree tolerates moderate frost of up to -2 degrees Celsius and has non-invasive roots. It is typically planted as a windscreen and break in coastal gardens, schools, and parks. Thriving in sandy to loamy soils, it also makes a good container plant.