What does "rooibos" mean?

A shrub (Aspalathus linearis) from which a tisane (herbal tea) is made.

Rooibos

Common synonyms include: redbush, aspalathus cedcarbergensis, aspalathus linearis, red tea, redbush, rooibos tea.

//ˈɹɔɪ.bɒs// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Noun

1
A shrub (Aspalathus linearis) from which a tisane (herbal tea) is made. South-Africa, uncountable
"The air is aromatic with buchu (Rutaceae), pines, rooibos (Aspalathus linearis), and, of course, the cedars for which these mountains are named."
2
South African shrub having flat acuminate leaves and yellow flowers; leaves are aromatic when dried and used to make an herbal tea wordnet
3
The tisane (herbal tea) made from this plant. uncountable
"The respondent obtained the registration of a trade mark for bush tea, one essential particular of which was the name of "Rooibosch" tea. Before the registration the same kind of tea had been known by several names one of them being Red bush tea, or in Dutch "Roodebosch" tea, and the appellants had sold similar tea under that appellation."
4
Various shrubs of the genus Combretum. South-Africa, uncountable
"The crest of the rim and the upper portion of both the outer and inner slopes are covered with a fairly thick growth of Rooibosch (Combretum holosericeum), and Bastard Rooibosch (Combretum apiculatum), accompanied by Dichrostachys nutans, Grewia occidentales, and isolated examples of Marula (Sclerocarya caffra) and Tambootie (Exoecaria africana); […]"

"The air is aromatic with buchu (Rutaceae), pines, rooibos (Aspalathus linearis), and, of course, the cedars for which these mountains are named."

Borrowed from Afrikaans rooibos, from Dutch rooi (“red”) + bosch (“bush”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.