Euphorbiaceae - Euphorbia family
SA Tree no 327
It is an erect medium to large tree, 10 - 20 m, and has sparse density. This tree grows in large, uniform groups on the crests of hills and mountains, in deciduous woodland, in low altitudes.
It is a single-stemmed upright tree with a sparse, grey-green canopy, which is narrow and seems almost pointed, especially from a distance.
The young branches and twigs are angular, articulated and densely covered with soft white to silvery hairs that are almost wooly, and the way the edges of the leaves curl under during dry conditions is characteristic. Bark is dark, distinctive and rough;
Links with animals - The leaves are eaten by a large variety of browsers.
Human uses - The wood is very hard, termite proof and durable, making it suitable for sleepers, fence posts. flooring and building. This wood was used in the construction of the first huts Punda Maria and Shingwedzi rest camps.
Gardening - This is not an attractive tree. It grows easily but slowly, from seed, is drought-resistant but sensitive to frost.
Leaves - Simple, opposite, each pair being at right angles to those leaves above and below it. Elliptic, almost heart shaped, with a broad base and a round tip which has a shiny end. The leaves are dark green above and velvety-white below, being covered with a matt of short, felt-like hairs. They are thickly leathery; apex very broadly tapering; base loved, often narrowly peltate;margin entire, rolled under; petiole up to 20 mm long, thickset, densely covered with whitish, wooly hairs. The distinctive stipules ensheathe the leaf bud, which open out and stand side by side as the shoot grows upwards, resembling a pair of wings. The are silvery on the outside, reddish-brown within, and they fall quite early. The edges of the leaves curl during dry conditions. (40 x 30 mm)
Flowers - The inconspicuous male and female flowers are borne on separate trees, the flowers of both sexes being distinctive and unusual. Male flowers are yellow, with very slender staminal columns rising from the centre, where many stamen are produced, at the base of which are 5 small, yellow, bract-like sepals; the flowers are produced in groups of three, joined at the base, in the leaf axils, each one borne on a slender, thread-like stalk, or pedicel. Female flowers are: small, yellowish, 5 to 7 mm in diameter, with 5 sepal lobes; borne on the end of an unusual stalk up to 17 mm; which resembles a calyx tube, fairly thick, ribbed, slightly curved, creamy-white in colour, with silvery, silky hairs; ovary large, 3 lobed, velvety, with 3 stigmas.They normally bloom from October to December, after rains. (25 mm) (October to November?)
Fruit - The three-lobed capsule turns red-brown before it ripens to a light brown. Seeds, which ripen from January to March, burst open on the trees with an audible crack. (12 mm)(November to March?)
Best places to see the Lembombo Ironwood in Southern Africa:
The Lembombo Ironwood is found in the Kruger National Park in the Lebombo Mountain Bushveld & Sandveld ecozones.
 Tree species of Southern Africa >> Printable Tree List <<
South African Trees >> Printable Tree List <<
The Plant Kingdom (Plantae)
Wildlife - Fauna & Flora of Southern Africa
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