Africa Wild

164. Blue Thorn Acacia, Yellow-bark Acacia Senegalia erubescens, Acacia erubescens (Bouhaak, Withaak)
Order: Fabales. Family: Fabaceae. Subfamily: Mimosoideae








Pilanesberg

Description
Small to medium-sized, often multi-stemmed tree. Stem pale, fissured with a distinctly flaking bark, even on the smaller branches. Bark yeloowish, peeling. young branches usually hairy. Thorns hooked, dark tipped, c. 6 cm, in pairs at the nodes. Leaves about as wide as long; leaflets bluish, usually hairy below, widely spaced. giving the tree an open airy appearance. Leaves not large, up to 6 × 4 cm, with 4-7 pairs of pinnae; leaflets in 10-25 pairs per pinna, often slightly curved downwards; petiole fairly long, c. 1.3 cm to the first pinnae, with a raised gland near the base. Flowers (August to October) in axillary spikes, creamy white (sometimes pink), before or with the new leaves. Pods (September to January) straight, more or less oblong with conspicuous venation, leathery, pointed at the apex, dehiscent.

Distribution
Angola, Botswana, DRC, Namibia (dominant species in the central highlands and north-central plateau), Tanzania, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and northern South Africa (Limpopo, North West).

Habitat
In hot dry areas, arid bushveld, predominantly hill slopes, along dry watercourses and plains on rocky substrates.

Links: Ernst Schmidt, Mervyn Lotter, Warren McCleland: Trees and Shrubs of Mpumalanga and Kruger National Park; Tree Atlas of Namibia PDF; Sappi Tree Spotting: Bushveld, Including Pilanesberg and Magaliesberg

196. Swazi Ordeal Tree Erythrophleum lasianthum (Swazi-oordeel Boom)
Order: Fabales. Family: Fabaceae. Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae






Tembe Elephant Park, KwaZulu-Natal.

Description
A medium-sized thornless tree with compound leaves and greenish-yellow flowers, up to 14 metres in height, with a more or less rounded crown. Leaves twice pinnate; pinnae few; leaflets 2.7-3.5 cm long X 2-3 cm wide, shortly-stalked, more or less blunt or rounded at both ends, thin in texture, finely veined. Calyx tubular, lobes five, short. Petals five, attached to calyx tube, narrowed at base. Stamens ten, free. Fruit flat, woody, up to 14 cm long x 4 cm wide, with 4-8 seeds which are up to 1.5 cm long x 1 cm wide, compressed.
The tree, the bark and roots of which are very toxic (containing the alkaloid erythrophleine), is used extensively for traditional medicine. The bark has been used as ordeal poison and proof poison.

Distribution
False Bay to Maputaland in KwaZulu-Natal, also occurs in Swaziland and Mozambique.

Habitat
Sand forest, woodland, riverine forest.

Status
Near Threatened.

176. Black Thorn Acacia Senegalia mellifera, Acacia mellifera (Swarthaak)
Order: Fabales. Family: Fabaceae. Subfamily: Mimosoideae

© nan

© nan
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, Nossob

Description
A very thorny multi-stemmed small tree or shrub with a rounded or spreading flat crown that sometimes touches the ground, 3–7 m tall.
Thorns occur in pairs at nodes which are spaced at intervals of 5–15 mm, sometimes up to 30 mm. There are thus more thorns per unit length of branch than with other species. The thorns are hooked and blackish. Short, curved thorns, like cats’ claws, are found just below each leaf-bud, and spiral around the branchlets and twigs. They are yellow-green when young and dark red to grey-black when mature. This tree has more thorns per length of stem than most Acacias (Thorn: up to 5 mm).
The leaves are twice compound and have 2-3 pairs of feathers, and are unusual for an Acacia, each leaflet having only 1–2 pairs of large, opposite leaflets. Each pair looks like a butterfly (Leaflet: 4–15 x 3–10 mm). Leaves are green initially, the same shade both above and below, but become glaucous when older. Main and lateral venation is visible on both surfaces. Leaflet margins are sparsely fringed with white hairs. The combined length of petiole (leaf stalk) plus rachis (the axis of a compound leaf) is up to 40 mm long. This stalk is sparsely pubescent, though sometimes glabrous on young plants, and is slender and light green. A petiole gland is usually present; the petiole is hairy.
The bark is rough and dark brown to black on the main stem and older branches, with lengthwise fissures showing yellowish under-bark. On the young branches the bark is grey to yellowish-brown.
Flowers usually appear in August or September before the tree comes into leaf. The conspicuous flowers look like balls but are actually very short flower-spikes. They are closely packed along the rigid, dark brown branchlets (10 mm diam.) The flowers are cream to white, but they take on a brownish hue when fading. They are sweetly scented.
The pods develop rapidly after flowering has taken place. They are small, straw-coloured or pale brown, thin to almost papery, straight, smooth, dehiscent (opening spontaneously when ripe) and 25–80 x 13–25 mm (January–April).

Distribution
From the Northern Cape in the south, to the Free State, Gauteng, North-West Province, Mpumalanga, the Limpopo Province, and northwards to Tanzania. In the Northern Cape Province it occurs mainly in the northwestern portion, notably in the Vryburg, Taung, Barkly West and Keimoes areas. In the Free State it grows in the western portion: Jacobsdal and Fauresmith areas. In Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West Provinces: it is found over most of the bushveld areas, down to the Springbok Flats north of Pretoria.
In Namibia it is found in the Caprivi Strip, Kaokoveld, Otjiwarongo, Outjo, Okahandja and Gobabis Districts and further south. In Botswana it occurs in the eastern and southern regions.

Habitat
In bushveld, dry woodland, arid savanna and semidesert areas, often on Kalahari sand and often growing in circular groups forming impenetrable thickets in overgrazed areas. It prefers deep sandy or gravelly soils and puts down a very deep tap-root.

Links: Sappi Tree Spotting: Bushveld, Including Pilanesberg and Magaliesberg

232. Zebrawood, African Blackwood, Mozambique Ebony Dalbergia melanoxylon (Driedoring, Swartdriedoring)
Order: Fabales. Family: Fabaceae. Subfamily: Faboideae






Kruger National Park, Crocodile Bridge

Description
A small, heavily branched tree, typically 4.5-7.5 m tall but ocasionally reaching 15 m. Small branchlets modified into spines. Bark pale grey to greyish-brown, papery, fairly smooth, and flaking in long, narrow stripes. Stems often crooked. Branchlets clustered at the nodes, some growing out, ohers short and spine tipped; covered at first with short crisp hairs, usually glabrous. Leaves imparipinnate, clustered on small branchlets. Leaflets variable heart-shaped or oval. Flowers small, sweetly scented, white, fragrant 6-9 cm long, in branched clusters, often appearing before or with the new leaves. Pods papery, not splitting, 3-7 cm long and 0.5-1.5 cm wide.

Distribution
Angola; Botswana; Burkina Faso; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Chad; The Democratic Republic of the Congo; Côte d'Ivoire; Ethiopia; Kenya; Malawi; Mali; Mozambique; Namibia (Caprivi Strip); Nigeria; Senegal; South Africa (Limpopo Province, Mpumalanga); South Sudan; Sudan; Tanzania; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe.

Habitat
In mixed woodland, thickets, on rocky outcrops or termite mounds.

Conservation Status
Classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List.
Its timber is widely used in the wood carving industry and in musical instrument manufacture. Levels of exploitation are very high and larger or suitably exploitable individuals are becoming increasingly scarce. There is cause for concern over genetic erosion in many populations.

Links: ARKive

X503. Mesquite, Honey Mesquite Prosopis glandulosa (Suidwesdoring, Heuningprosopis )
Order: Fabales. Family: Fabaceae, Subfamily: Mimosoideae

© nan

© nan
Twee Rivieren, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

Description
A multistemmed acacia-like shrub, or small to large tree, 3–10 m tall. Branches with reddish-brown branchlets, armed with paired straight spines. Dark green leaves with leaflets 10-25 mm long. Leaves twice compound with one pair of pinnae, hairless leaflets widely spaced with 7-18 pairs per pinna. Flowers are cream to yellow and borne in axillary spikes. The straight pods are woody, slender, cylindrical and slightly constricted between the seeds. Flowering time is in summer, from June to November.

Distribution
Originally imported from America for its potential to provide fodder (pods), shade and firewood in arid areas. It is a declared invader in South Africa. Category 2 NEMBA; 1b in Eastern Cape, Free State, North-West and Western Cape; 3 in Northern Cape.

Habitat
Mesquite invades rivers and drainage lines, forming dense thickets. Occurring in and aroundbdry riverbeds and rest camps inside the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.

Prosopis trees are extravagant users of readily available ground-water and dense stands could seriously affect the hydrology of the ecosystems they invade. Dense stands compete with and replace indigenous woody and grassland species.

197. Wild Syringa Burkea africana (Wildesering)
Order: Fabales. Family: Fabaceae. Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae










Marakele National Park

Description
Deciduous, medium-sized, spreading, flat-topped tree with an erect trunk, up to 8 m high, V-shaped. Bark rough, both vertically and horizontally fissured. Twigs with brown-hairy at the tip. Leaves are pinnately compound, silvery-pubescent or glabrescent. Each leaf is 100–350 mm long, with 2–4 pairs of pinnae and 5–18 leaflets per pinna. Leaflets are alternate and oval and silvery when they are young and marked with brown spots. Flowers are creamy white, fragrant and in pendulous racemes of up to 300 mm in length. Pods flat, elliptic, wing-like, brown and woody, single-seeded. indehiscent, 9-12 mm.

Distribution
widely distributed in tropical Africa and in sub tropical regions southwards to Namibia, Botswana and the Limpopo, North West, Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces of South Africa.

Habitat
In sandy soils in dry deciduous bushveld and woodlands.

Links: Field Guide to Trees of Southern Africa. Braam Van Wyk, Piet Van Wyk; Trees and Shrubs of Mpumalanga and Kruger National Park. Ernst Schmidt, Mervyn Lotter, Warren McCleland

193. Sumach Bean, Broad-pod Elephant Root Elephantorrhiza burkei (Basboontjie)
Order: Fabales. Family: Fabaceae. Subfamily: Mimosoideae

© steamtrainfan
Pilanesberg

Description
Perennial non-climbing tree, shrub or small tree with fragrant flowers. Multistemmed, deciduous, 1-3 m, no thorns. Bark dark grey; young branches hairless. Leaves are hairless, blue-green, twice-compound; 4-8 pairs of pinnae, 12-36 pairs of leaflets; leaflets relatively large. Flowers in creamy-white spikes, 50-100 mm long; small reddish glands present at base of individual flowers; flowers usually produced with the leaves (October to November). Fruit flat woody pods.

Distribution
Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa (Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West), Zimbabwe.

Habitat
Along rocky ridges and slopes in bushveld.

© steamtrainfan

© steamtrainfan

Links: Trees and Shrubs of Mpumalanga and Kruger National Park; Field Guide to Trees of Southern Africa

213. Eared Senna, Monkey Pod Senna petersiana
Order: Fabales. Family: Fabaceae. Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae

Kruger National Park © mposthumus

Description
Large rounded deciduous shrub or small tree to 4 m. Bark greyish brown and rough; young stems hairy.
Leaves paripinnate (compound without a terminal leaflet) with 6-12 pairs of leaflets and large ear-shaped stipule present at base of petiole.
Flowers bisexual, in large sprays, sweetly scented, bright yellow. Flowering time: Jan - Jun.
Pods up to 25 cm, straight or slightly curved, dark brown or black when ripe.

Distribution
Eastern Africa from Ethiopia southwards to northern South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga).

Habitat
In riverine fringes and wooded grassland; on sandy soils.

Links:
https://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/species ... _id=127120