Dodonaea viscosa is a multi-stemmed shrub/small tree named after a Flemish botanist Rembert Dodoens. It is evergreen with a maximum height of 7m. The distribution of the Sand olive stretches from Tropical Africa in the North to the Southern Cape in the South, also throughout the subtropics and tropics of other parts of the world.

Leaves of this shrub are simple, alternate, narrow and sometimes sticky because of resin especially the young leaves. The bark is angular and reddish in colour on young stems becoming grey and finely fissured on mature branches and stems. This shrub blooms from April to July and the flowers appear in a branched manner on the terminal heads in the leaf axils. After flowering, D. viscosa produces winged roundish capsules which change colour from yellow to reddish pink with maturity.

The sand olive is popular for its ability to stabilise areas with sandy soils. It is planted as a decorative shrub in small gardens due to its shiny foliage and beautiful pink-red winged fruits. This shrub is also suitable for hedging since it responses well to pruning. It attracts many butterflies and birds to the garden and is frost tolerant and drought tolerant. Since the Sand olive is a small tree, the root system is not classified as invasive.