Mimusops zeyheri

General Info – Summary

This dense shady, smallish Tree with a straight trunk is up to 15m high.  Damaged parts yield milky latex.  Leathery, simple, alternate/spiral Leaves are entire.  Small, white, star-shaped Flowers are 4-merous, bisexual, actinomorphic, and develop on a red hairy pedicel.  8 stamens, 8 staminodes &, a single pistil with a superior ovary & a single style develop.  Fruit: a fleshy yellowish berry with large shiny brown seeds.

Description

Previous Names: Mimusops decorifolia, Mimusops monroi, Mimusops zeyheri var. laurifolia.

SA Tree No. 585.

Common names: (Afr) Moepel, Rooimelkhout, Transvaalmelkhout.  (Eng) Common Red-milkwood, Red-milkwood, Red Milkwood, Transvaal Red Milkwood.  (isiNdebele) Umbumbulu.  (isiZulu) Umkhele, Umphusane, Umpushane.  (Northern Sotho) Mmupudu, Mopupudu.  (siSwati) Umphusane, Umpushane.  (Tshivenda) Mububulu, Mutaladzi.

Family: Sapotaceae.  (Stamvrug, latex-yielding family).  This family is pantropical (distributed throughout the tropics) and includes 35-75 genera and approximately 800 species.  Local genera with trees on this website include Englerophytum, Inhambanella, Mimusops, Sideroxylon and Vitellariopsis.  Branches exude latex.  Leaves are simple, entire and there are closely parallel secondary veins.  Flowers are bisexual, usually actinomorphic (regular).  There are persistent Sepals and fused Petals.  The Stamens equal the number of petals.  Staminodes may be present outside the fertile stamens.  The superior Ovary has locules containing a single ovule.  One Style and 1 Stigma are present.  Fruit is a berry.  Seeds have a thick brown shiny testa (seed coat) with a distinct pale scar.  Seeds dispersed by birds, bats and mammals.  There are 7 genera and 14 species in southern Africa.

Name derivation: Mimusops (resembling an ape – unusual!).  zeyheri – honours the botanist who discovered the tree: Carl L. P. Zeyheri (1799-1858).  He visited South Africa from 1822 and collected plant specimens in Gauteng, Free State and the Eastern and Western Cape.  He discovered this species in Magaliesberg.  His specimens formed the basis of Floral Capensis – (a systematic description of the plants of the Cape colony, Eastern Cape, & Port Natal (and neighboring territories).

Conservation: National Status: L C. (Least Concern).  Assessed: L. von Staden: Least Concern – 2017/10/05.

Tree

This usually small shady Tree with a long straight stem has a crown of spreading branches (intro photo) – even close to the ground.  This results in a dense rounded crown up to 6m and occasionally 15m high.  Here it may have a straight unbranched trunk.  The tree may also be twisted and short.  The spread of the crown may equal or exceed the height of the tree (intro photo).  Twigs (1-year-old current branch segments) are knobbly.  Reddish, appressed (closely and flatly pressed against but not joined) Hairs are present on new growth (photo 308).  In this photo, leaf scars are visible.  The Trunk is usually long and straight but can be short, twisted and even forked.  Milky latex is present.  The Bark is initially red then grey (photo 308) and rather smooth when young (photo 840).  On the tree it becomes, dark brown (photo 658).  On older trunks, bark is lengthwise cracked or deeply fissured (photo 528) and old trunks may become hollow.

Leaves

On this evergreen tree, the elliptic, oblong, obovate-elliptic or even lanceolate Leaves are thinly leathery and simple (has a single blade, which may have incisions that are not deep enough to divide the blade into leaflets).  The leaves (photo 548) are up to 11 x 5cm.  In this photo leaves are usually broadest near the centre.   Leaves are not densely crowded at branch ends.  The Blade is initially light green (photo 576) but matures to a glossy dark green above and paler green below (photo 548).  Fine Lateral Veins are present and more visible below.  Young leaves are reddish, due to the presence of a fine layer of dense red adpressed (here lying closely against the leaves) hairs (photo 656).  These dense rusty hairs are soon lost, and leaves change to light green and finally darker green above (photo 576).  Leaves are alternate or spirally arranged (photo 22).  The Midrib is slightly ridged above (photo 22) and more prominent below (photo 656).  The Apex (photos 548 & 656) is bluntly pointed or tapers to a pointed tip/or rounded and may be slightly notched.  The Base is narrowly tapering (photos 548 & 22).  The rolled under, wavy Margin is slightly thickened (photo 739) and entire (with a continuous margin, not in any way indented).  The Petiole (leaf stalk) may be reddish (photo 548) and is up to 3cm long.  Broken off leaves exude a milky latex (photo 739).  Stipules (basal appendages of the petiole) are present (photo 656).

Flowers

The star shaped, sweet scented, small (up to about 1cm in diameter), often numerous Flowers (photo 507) are bisexual and actinomorphic (Regular, symmetrical.  Flowers are vertically divisible into similar halves by more than 1 plane passing through the axis).  The white to cream flowers may occur singly.  They often occur in groups of up to 7 flowers in leaf axils (the upper angle between a lateral organ, such as a leaf, and the stem that bears it – photo 526).  The Pedicel (stalk of a single flower) is reddish, up to 3cm long, hairy (photo 08) and may be curved (photo 014).  Flowers are 4-merous (in 4 parts).  The Calyx (is the outer whorl of floral envelopes and consists of leaf-like structures called Sepals at the base of each flower).  Sepals protect the bud during development).  In the bud there are only 4 visible sepals (photo 07).  Behind each of the sepals in a bud is a hidden sepal that becomes visible when the flower opens (a total of 8 sepals).  The Corolla has 8 white star-shaped Petal lobes, and each lobe has 2 dorsal appendages (photo 016).  The usually 8 Stamens arise from the throat of the corolla tube.  Their Filaments (the slender stalks that supports each anther) are shorter than the lanceolate, apiculate (ending in a short, sharp, flexible point) Anthers (where the pollen grains are formed).  The single Pistil (a unit of the Gynoecium, the female element of the flower is composed of the Ovary, Style and Stigma) and contains a superior, 8 locular Ovary with an Ovule in each locule.  The single recently protruding Style (here the elongated part of the pistil situated between the ovary and the stigma) is initially green – lowest flower in photo 07.  At this stage all petals have fallen.  Seeds are large and distinctive with their shiny brown seed coat with a large pale-coloured scar.  (Oct-Mar).

Fruit

The mature ovoid, fleshy Fruit is a yellowish Berry (pulpy, indehiscent fruit like a grape or tomato).  It is an indehiscent fruit up to 3 x 2,5cm.  A persistent Calyx is present.  Each brittle skinned fruit has milky latex and a shortly pointed tip.  Young berries are initially green and covered with tiny white dots.  Each berry becomes yellow/orange at maturity.  A persistent bristle like style may still be visible.  Berries usually develop one or occasionally more, shiny brown Seeds that are up to 2cm long.  The seeds are large and distinctive.  Each has a large basal pale coloured circular scar and thin Cotyledons (primary leaves in the embryo).  The Endosperm (the starch and oil-containing tissue of many seeds; often referred to as the albumen) is conspicuous.  (Apr-Sep).

Distribution & Ecology

These Trees need a reasonable amount of summer rainfall.  They are common in savannah (a rolling grassland scattered with shrubs and isolated trees, which can be found between a tropical rainforest and desert biome), woodland, bushveld (a sub-tropical woodland ecoregion of southern Africa), in hot areas close to streams and rivers fringes – up to an altitude of 1 600m.  Trees also occur on rocky outcrops and dry wooded hillsides.  The trees can survive moderate frost and reach greater heights with a steady water supply.  The Leaves provide a dense shade, which decreases the number of other plants from growing underneath.  Animals that consume the fruit help with seed dispersal.  These include people, baboons, monkeys, bushpigs, elephants (leaves and branches) and birds including Rameron pigeons, African Green pigeons and barbets.  Larvae of the Butterflies: Boisduval’s False Acraea (Pseudacraea boisduvali) and the False Chief (Pseudacraea lucretia) feed on the Leaves.  This tree may occur together with Englerophytum magalismontanum (Transvaal Milkplum or Stamvrug).  Provinces where the tree occur include Gauteng, North West e.g., Hartbeespoort Dam and Magaliesberg (where it was first collected), Mpumalanga, Far Northern KwaZulu-Natal, and Limpopo e.g., Waterberg district.  Beyond South Africa it occurs in Botswana, Angola, Siswati (Swaziland), Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and northwards from here into eastern tropical Africa, including Tanzania.

Ethnobotany

The pinkish green Wood dries to a beige-brown colour.  It is reasonably hard, light, has a wavy grain and is useful when great strength is not required.  It was used to build wagons.  Fumes from cutting green wood can causes sneezing.  The Fruit has an orange flesh that is edible: pleasantly sweet tasting, and has a reasonably high Vitamin C content.  Fresh Seeds germinate within a couple of weeks.  Transplant seedlings during the following spring.  Plants do best with a mild winter and at medium to low altitudes in summer rainfall areas where the drainage is good.  Adult trees can tolerate mild frost.  These plants are used for bonsai.

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. Milstein, S. 1989. The Complete Book of Southern African Birds. Struik Publishers (PTY) LTD. Third impression 1991.

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.

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

von Staden, L. 2017. Mimusops zeyheri Sond. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version 2024.1. Accessed on 2025/11/21.

Woodhall, S. 2020. Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa, edn 2. Donnelley, RR, China.

 

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

http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/carr/sapot.htm

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

http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantklm/voteplant.php