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Derivation of specific name

provided by Flora of Zimbabwe
africana: African
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Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten and Petra Ballings
bibliographic citation
Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T. and Ballings, P. (2002-2014). Spirostachys africana Sond. Flora of Zimbabwe website. Accessed 28 August 2014 at http://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/speciesdata/species.php?species_id=135700
author
Mark Hyde
author
Bart Wursten
author
Petra Ballings
original
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Flora of Zimbabwe

Description

provided by Flora of Zimbabwe
Medium-sized deciduous tree with a rounded crown. Bark dark grey to blackish, rough, cracking in rectangular pieces; milky latex present. Leaves spirally arranged, elliptic to ovate, up to 7 cm long, dull green, hairless or slightly hairy; base with 2 small glands at the junction with the petiole; margins shallowly crenate. Flowers unisexual on the same tree, in catkin like spikes, deep red. Fruit 3-lobed, c. 6 × 13 mm, yellowish, dehiscent.
license
cc-by-nc
copyright
Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten and Petra Ballings
bibliographic citation
Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T. and Ballings, P. (2002-2014). Spirostachys africana Sond. Flora of Zimbabwe website. Accessed 28 August 2014 at http://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/speciesdata/species.php?species_id=135700
author
Mark Hyde
author
Bart Wursten
author
Petra Ballings
original
visit source
partner site
Flora of Zimbabwe

Worldwide distribution

provided by Flora of Zimbabwe
Tanzania, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
license
cc-by-nc
copyright
Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten and Petra Ballings
bibliographic citation
Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T. and Ballings, P. (2002-2014). Spirostachys africana Sond. Flora of Zimbabwe website. Accessed 28 August 2014 at http://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/speciesdata/species.php?species_id=135700
author
Mark Hyde
author
Bart Wursten
author
Petra Ballings
original
visit source
partner site
Flora of Zimbabwe

Spirostachys africana

provided by wikipedia EN

Spirostachys africana is a medium-sized (about 10 metres (33 ft) tall) deciduous tree with a straight, clear trunk, occurring in the warmer parts of Southern Africa. Its wood is known as tamboti, tambotie, tambootie or tambuti.

It prefers growing in single-species copses in deciduous woodland, often along watercourses or on brackish flats and sandy soils.

Description

S. africana trunk

The leaves are small, elliptic with crenate margins, and turn bright red in winter before dropping. The petiole has 2 small glands at the distal end. The grey-black rough bark is distinctively split into neat rectangles. The catkin-like flowers appear in early spring before the leaves. Male and female flowers are borne separately on the same tree (monoecious). The small 3-lobed capsules or schizocarps split into three equal indehiscent segments (mericarps or cocci) when ripe; on a warm day this splitting (dehiscence) can sound like a distant fusillade of shots. The seeds are globose with a chartaceous testa.

Wood and toxicity

Despite it being prone to heart-rot, it is prized in the furniture industry for its beautiful, dense and durable timber, which is reddish-brown with darker streaks, a satin-like lustre and extremely fragrant sweet, spicy smell. The underbark exudes a white, poisonous latex when freshly cut, and campfires that burn tamboti fuel give off noxious fumes contaminating meat or other food grilled on the open flames or coals. The latex is used as a fish poison, is applied to arrow-tips and is used as a purgative by indigenous tribes.

Jumping beans

The fruits while green are frequently parasitised by the small grey moth Emporia melanobasis (Pyralidae: Phycitinae). Larvae develop within the growing fruits which show no external damage. When the fruits are mature each splits into 3 cocci. The larvae jack-knife inside the fallen segments, causing them to move about erratically and vigorously, to the surprise of the uninitiated. This has led to the name "jumping bean tree". The Mexican jumping bean, Sebastiania sp., also belongs to the family Euphorbiaceae and is parasitised by the moth Cydia saltitans.

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ^ Hills, R. (2019). "Spirostachys africana". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T200643A2675506. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T200643A2675506.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  • Medicinal and Poisonous Plants of Southern and Eastern Africa - John Mitchell Watt & Maria Gerdina Breyer-Brandwyk (E&S Livingstone 1962)
  • "Spirostachys africana". PlantZAfrica.com. Retrieved 2010-03-04.
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Wikipedia authors and editors
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wikipedia EN

Spirostachys africana: Brief Summary

provided by wikipedia EN

Spirostachys africana is a medium-sized (about 10 metres (33 ft) tall) deciduous tree with a straight, clear trunk, occurring in the warmer parts of Southern Africa. Its wood is known as tamboti, tambotie, tambootie or tambuti.

It prefers growing in single-species copses in deciduous woodland, often along watercourses or on brackish flats and sandy soils.

license
cc-by-sa-3.0
copyright
Wikipedia authors and editors
original
visit source
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wikipedia EN