General Info – summary

This Tree with its rounded crown may reach 15m high and bark may have vertical coppery strips.  The trunk is single or forked.  Young parts and flowerheads are covered with star-shaped hairs.  The imparipinnate Leaves are hairy below & discolorous.  Small, 4-merous, regular, creamy yellow, dioecious or bisexual Flowers are in spikes.  Fruit: flat-topped drupe + 4 style remains.  A single seed develops.

Description

Lannea discolor

Previous Names: Odina discolor.

SA Tree No. 362.

Common names: (Afr) Bakhout, Bastermaroela, Bastermorula, Boomdruif, Dikbas, Mobejaantjie, Wildepruim.  (Eng) Live-long, Live-long Lannea, Live-long Tree, Tree Grape, Wild Plum.  (Nd) Isagangatsha, Umpwanda, Umpwanele.  (isiZulu) Isiganganyane, Siganganyane.  (Northern Sotho) Morulamôpsane, Mokgôkgôthwane, Morula-moopyane.  (Setswana) Mmôtswana, Molebatse, Molebatsi, Moopyane, Moôjwane, Ximupuyane.  (siSwati) Isiganganyane, Siganganyane, Umntfokolovu.  (Tshivenda) Munii, Muvhumbu.

Family: Anacardiaceae (include Mango, Marula and Cashew family), which has about 83 genera and 800+ species.  Resin ducts are present in the inner fibrous bark and woolly stellate hairs cover all young parts.  Leaves lack stipules.  Deciduous or evergreen tree usually has usually alternate leaves.  Leaves are simple, trifoliate or digitally compound and imparipinnate.  Leaflets are usually opposite.  Crushed leaves may smell of turpentine.  Trees are monoecious or dioecious with occasional bisexual Flowers.  Flowers are small, usually regular.  The Calyx has 4-7 sepals and there are 4-7 Petals.  The number of Stamens is the same as, or twice the number of petals and the Anthers are versatile.  The superior Ovary has up to 4 locules, each with a single ovule.  The 1-5 Styles are free or connate and separated at the base.  Fruit is usually an indehiscent fleshy drupe with a single Seed.  The southern Africa genera containing trees on this website include Harpephyllum, Lannea, Loxostylis, Ozoroa, Sclerocarya and Searsia.

Name derivation: Lannea refers to the dense, woolly hairs that cover the young parts of the plants. discolor – 2 colours: referring to the leaves which are much lighter on the lower side.  There are 6 species in the genus Lannea in southern Africa.

Conservation: National Status: L C (Least Concern).  Assessment: 2005 (W. Foden and L. Potter).

Tree

With its neat, rounded Crown (photo 408), this deciduous, upright, medium sized Tree is usually up to 10m high but can reach 15m.  The trunk may be straight or forked.  The smooth to slightly rough Bark may be pale grey to reddish and slightly rough.  Hairy branchlet ends are thick and have prominent Leaf Scars (photo 283).  Between the wider vertical grey strips, lighter strips may be visible (photo 403).  Young branches have visible leaf scars (photos 487 & 283) and lenticels (usually raised corky oval or elongated areas on the plant that allows the uncontrolled interchange of gases with the environment) are present (photo 407).

Leaves

This deciduous tree loses Leaves early and may be without leaves for several months.  The spirally arranged leaves usually appear after the flowers and are up to 35cm long.  Leaves develop at branch ends and are imparipinnate (pinnately compound leaf ending in a single leaflet).  The leaf Blade is hairy, dark green above, a whitish grey and densely hairy below (photo 405).  Leaflets are discolorous (having upper and lower surfaces of leaves different colours – photo 405).  Young spring leaves are soft, pink and furry (photo 282).  The up to 5 Leaflet pairs are opposite or nearly so (photo 405) and tend to increase in size towards the apex, where a single leaflet with a distinct Petiolule (leaflet stalk) is present.  Individual leaflets are elliptic, oblong, ovate to almost round and may reach 10 x 5cm.  Veins are visible on both sides and details are visible when a leaf is viewed against a strong light (photo 432).  Prior to reaching the margin, the lateral veins link and loop towards the apex.  Veins are slightly sunken above and protrude below.  The Apex is tapering to nearly rounded.  The Base tapers and, apart from the terminal symmetric leaflet, the rest may be asymmetric (photo 405).  The Margins are entire (with a continuous margin, not in any way indented).  The Rachis is not winged.  The hairy Petiole (stalk of leaf) is up to 3cm long.  Apart from the terminal leaflet, the hairy Petiolules (leaflet stalks) are absent or very short.

Flowers

The 4-merous (having a specific number of parts – here 4), sweetly scented, yellow to cream coloured Flowers usually appear before the leaves in spring.  They develop at the ends of short branchlets (a small branch or division of a branch (especially a terminal division); usually applied to branches of the current or preceding year).  They occur in long (up to 23cm) Spikes (simple indeterminate inflorescence with sessile flowers on a single unbranched stalk).  Separate male and female spikes occur on different plants.  Trees are dioecious (unisexual floral structures with male and female parts on separate plants).  The Calyx has 4 persistent, short Sepal lobes.  The Corolla has 4 Petals that are spreading and imbricate (having regularly arranged, overlapping edges).  The annular Disc (a more or less fleshy or elevated development of the receptacle) is fleshy.  The Male spikes are longer and less compact than Female spikes.  In Male Flowers, the 8 Stamens with flattened filaments are versatile (hung or attached near the middle, and usually moving freely) and arise from the disc.  Each Female Flower has a superior, single chambered Ovary containing a single Ovule.  Each ovary extends into 4 Styles.  (Aug-Nov).

Fruit

The shiny, fleshy, usually oval and slightly flat-topped Fruit (photo 285) is a Drupe (a fleshy, 1-seeded indehiscent fruit with the seed enclosed in a stony endocarp like a peach – photo 411).  It has the visible remains of 4 short Styles that surround the flattish apex (photo 285).  Mature fruit is up to 1,5 x 1cm, is round to egg-shaped and turns reddish or purple-black when mature.  Seeds are half-moon shaped.  (Sep-Nov/All year).

Distribution & Ecology

This tree occurs in the Bushveld (a sub-tropical woodland ecoregion of southern Africa) up to an altitude of 1 500m.  It is often associated with termite mounds, stony/granite slopes and open grassy woodland.  In the South Africa, these plants occur in northern KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and North West.  They also occur in Swaziland, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia, Namibia (Caprivi) and the DRC.  A wide range of animals including kudu, giraffe and elephant browse the Leaves.  The Budded Lappet Moth Eucraera gemmata larvae feed on the leaves.  Bush pigs and elephant consume the Bark and elephant eat the Roots.  Animals that consume the Fruit include baboons, monkeys, elephant, kudu and birds like starlings.  Plants grow from cut stems and coppice readily (Coppice growth: when stems are cut or burned, it causes regrowth from the stump or roots).

Ethnobotany

These Trees may be planted to create a live fence.  The common name “Live-long” arises from the fact that poles stuck in the ground tend to take root.  The soft, light Wood does not crack easily and is used for making spoons, plates and fishing spears.  The low-density wood is used as floats for fishing nets.  Twine is made from the fibrous Bark, which is also used for tanning and producing a red dye.  Traditional medicine makes use of the bark and roots.  The edible Fruit has a pleasant grape like taste, is sought after by children, and birds like starlings.  The pulp of the fruit should be eaten fresh after removing the skin.  The tree can be Grown from cuttings or seeds.  Pick, clean and plant the seeds immediately.  These trees are fast growing but are frost sensitive – especially when young.

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.

Foden, W. & Potter, L. 2005. Lannea discolor (Sond.) Engl. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version 2020.1. Accessed on 2023/08/14.

Ginn, P.J. McIlleron, W.G. Milstein, S. 1989. The Complete Book of Southern African Birds. Struik Publishers (PTY) LTD. Third impression 1991.

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.

van Wyk, B. & van Wyk, P. 1997 Field guide to Trees of Southern Africa, Struik, Cape Town.

 

http://posa.sanbi.org/flora/browse.php?src=SP

http://pza.sanbi.org/lannea-discolor

https://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/speciesdata/species.php?species_id=136520

https://www.operationwildflower.org.za/index.php/albums/trees/lannea-discolor-il-9-5315