General Info – summary

This deciduous Tree to 40m high and trunk diameter up to 1,5m.  Wood is useable.  Simple, entire hairless and leathery Leaves are in whorls.  The whitish, bisexual, 5-merous Flowers are in compact spherical heads.  Calyx and corolla are hairy.  Filaments are shorter than basifixed anthers.  The inferior ovary has an exerted style with an attached pollen presenter.  Fruit is a capsule with small, wind-dispersed seeds.

Description

Breonadia salicina

Previous Names: Adina galpinii, Adina lasiantha, Adina microcephala, Adina microcephala var. galpinii, Breonadia microcephala, Cephalanthus spathelliferus, Nauclea microcephala.

SA Tree No. 684.

Common names:  (Afr) Mingerhout, Waterboekenhout, Watermatoemie.  (Eng) African Teak, Basterkiaat, Matumi, Transvaal Teak, Wild Oleander.  (isiZulu) Umfomfo, Umfula, Umhlume, Water Matome.  (Northern Sotho) Mohlome.  (siSwati) Umhlume, Thlume.  (Tshivenda) Mutulume.

Family: Rubiaceae (Coffee/Gardenia family).  This family of dicotyledonous plants has in excess of 600 genera and about 13 000 species and members include trees, shrubs and herbs.  The plants are terrestrial and predominantly woody and sometimes Scandent (climbing without the aid of tendrils).  Local genera with trees on this website include Afrocanthium, Canthium, Coddia, Gardenia, Pavetta, Rothmannia and Vangueria.  Leaves are simple, opposite or whorled and have interpetiolar stipules.  4 or 5 merous, usually regular Flowers are bisexual or unisexual.  The calyx has sepals that are at least partly united.  Petals are joined – at least at the base.  Stamens are usually as many as and alternating with corolla lobes.  The Ovary is inferior.  Fruit is a drupe, berry or capsule. 2024.09.04.

Name derivation: Breonadia was probably named after Jean Nicolas Breon (1815-1894) who collected plants in Mauritius.  salicina – willow (Salix) like, possibly referring to the leaves.

Conservation: National Status: L C (Least Concern).  Assessment:  2018 (L. von Staden).

Tree

This often-narrow crowned, tall evergreen timber Tree (photo 225) is from 3 to 40m high.  The sturdy, straight Trunk may reach 1,5m wide and the initially smooth Bark is brown to grey-brown (photo 231).  It becomes rough, fissured and flakes into irregular plates (photo 231).  Small branches are hairless and the crown is relatively narrow (photo 263).  Here recently fallen leaves leave leaf scars (photo 216).  No milky latex is present.

Leaves

No milky sap is present.  The hairless, deciduous Leaves are graceful and simple (have a single blade which may have incisions that are not deep enough to divide the leaf into leaflets).  They are usually arranged in whorls of 4 but may have 3 or 5 leaves (photo 222).  Leaves are tough, leathery and tend to be concentrated towards branches ends.  Individual leaves may reach 29 x 4cm.  They are lanceolate to very narrowly elliptic (photo 214) and are similar to leaves of Oleander.  The Apex tapers to a pointed end and the Base tapers more sharply.  The Blade is glossy, dark green above and lighter below (photo 214).  The relatively wide Midrib (the main rib of a leaf or leaf-like part, a continuation of the petiole) is raised on both sides and veins are pale yellowish green.  The small details of the leaf are best seen when viewed against a strong light (photo 218).  Yellowish green Lateral veins slope slightly upwards or run outwards at close to 90 degrees.   They loop together before reaching the margin (photo 218).  The Margins are rolled under and entire (with a continuous margin, not in any way indented (photo 214).  The Petiole (leaf stalk) is thickset (photo 222), may reach 2,5cm long and is partially decurrent (leaf blades that partly wrap or have wings around the stem or petiole – photo 222).  The small, pointed Stipules (basal appendage of the petiole) occur between pairs of petioles.  They separate into a 4-toothed ring and fall early leaving small raised marks (enlarged photo 222E).

Flowers

The flowers are axillary (growing between leaf and stem) and very small (up to 4mm long).  They are sweetly scented bisexual and pale mauve (between violet & red), green or yellowish.  Flowers occur in dense spherical heads up to 2,5cm wide with each of the many flowers subtended by a linear-spatulate Bract (usually a much-reduced specialised leaf).  Each flower rests on a slender Pedicel (stalk of a single flower).  Each collectively spherical head, rest on a thin Peduncle (stalk of flower cluster with many flowers) that is up to 9cm long.

The densely hairy Calyx is 5-short lobed and sweetly scented.  The hairy, tubular and 5- lobed Corolla is glandular within and widens into a funnel shaped throat.  It may be pinkish green, white, or yellowish brown.  The 5 concave lobes are oblong and imbricate (having regularly arranged, overlapping edges) and glandular within.  Each of the 5 Stamens arise from, and protrude through the corolla throat.  The linear Filaments are shorter than the basifixed, oblong sagittate (shaped like an arrowhead) Anthers.  The inferior Ovary has 2 locules (compartments) each containing several ovules.  The club shaped Pollen Presenter rests on the long exserted Style.  Although situated on the tip of the style, the function of the pollen presenter is to aid cross-fertilization.  Most avoid self-pollination by dispersing the pollen first – while the stigma is still covered).  (Nov-Mar).

Fruit

The Fruit is a tiny 2-lobed dehiscent Capsule (a dry fruit resulting from the maturing of a compound ovary, which usually opens at maturity by one or more lines of dehiscence between the carpels).  Persistent calyx lobes are present.  Capsules are clustered in hard, brown, spherical heads (Photo 220).  The 2-3mm long Seeds are ovoid or obovoid.  Apr-Oct.

Distribution & Ecology

This tropical species occurs naturally in northern KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga lowveld and Limpopo.  Here it is widespread but not densely concentrated.  Beyond the South Africa, it occurs in Madagascar, Eswatini (Swaziland), and northern central and extreme southern Mozambique.  From here, it occurs northwards to Angola and into tropical Africa where it is more densely concentrated.  It can be seen along permanent rivers and streams and occurs in riverine-fringed forests: up to an altitude of 2 000m.  Yellow beaked Rameron pigeons (Columba arquatrix) is a robust bird that is common in southern and eastern Africa from the Cape to Ethiopia.  This bird consumes the Fruit and aids with seed dispersal.  Game browse the Leaves.  Wood has been excessively harvested and is this tree has become protected.

Ethnobotany

This often-narrow crowned, tall timber Tree has moderately dense Wood that is hard, fine-grained, durable and termite resistant.  Cut wood is yellow to light brown.  It has an oily smell and is resistant to termites.  It varies from yellow to brown and has black or flame-like markings.  Good furniture is made from it, but it may be difficult to polish.  Wood is used to construct canoes, huts, cattle-kraals, mine props and flooring.  Local medicine makes use of the Bark, which is also rich in tannins.  Unfortunately, illegal collection of the wood is a problem.  The plant Grows well from seeds but has invasive roots.  Keep plants away from buildings, and swimming pools.  The tree is frost sensitive and should be planted in moist, well drained soils.  Seedlings are tender to both drought and frost.

References

Boon, R. 2010. Pooley’s Trees of eastern South Africa. Flora and Fauna Publications Trust, Durban.

Burrows, J.E., Burrows, S.M., Lotter, M.C. & Schmidt, E. 2018. Trees and Shrubs Mozambique.  Publishing Print Matters (Pty) Ltd.  Noordhoek, Cape Town.

Coates Palgrave, M. 2002. Keith Coates Palgrave Trees of Southern Africa, edn 3. Struik, Cape Town.

Ginn, P. J, McIlleron, W.G, & Mimstein, P. le S. 1991. The Complete Book of South African Birds. Struik, Cape Town/Singapore.

Lawrence, G. H. M, 1951. Taxonomy of Vascular Plants. The Macmillan Company, New York. Tenth Printing 1965.

Palmer, E. & Pitman, N. 1972. Trees of southern Africa. Balkema, Amsterdam, Cape Town.

Schmidt, S. Lotter, M. & McCleland, W. 2002. Trees and Shrubs of Mpumalanga and the Kruger National Park. Jacana, Johannesburg.

von Staden, L. 2018. Breonadia salicina (Vahl) Hepper & J.R.I.Wood. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2024/10/20

 

http://pza.sanbi.org/breonadia-salicina

http://home.intekom.com/ecotravel/plant-kingdom/trees/breonadia-salicina-matumi-mingerhout.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubiaceae