Dombeya rotundifolia

Last updated

South African wild pear
Dombeya rotundifolia, habitus, Skeerpoort, a.jpg
Dombeya rotundifolia00.jpg
In summer and spring
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae
Genus: Dombeya
Species:
D. rotundifolia
Binomial name
Dombeya rotundifolia
South African wild pear (Dombeya rotundifolia) IUCN range 2021.svg
 occurrence records
Synonyms

Dombeya damaranaK.Schum.
Dombeya densifloraPlanch. ex Harv. & Sond.
Dombeya dinteriSchinz
Dombeya multifloraPlanch.
Xeropetalum minusEndl.
Xeropetalum multiflorumEndl.

Contents

Dombeya rotundifolia, the dikbas or "South African wild pear" (it is not related to pear trees), is a small deciduous tree with dark grey to blackish deeply fissured bark, found in Southern Africa and northwards to central and eastern tropical Africa. Formerly placed in the Sterculiaceae, that artificial group has now been abandoned by most authors and the plants are part of an enlarged Malvaceae.

Dombeya rotundifolia was originally described by Hochstetter. The D. rotundifolia of Bojer is now Dombeya spectabilis .

Description

Trees are normally 5–6 m tall with a single well-defined trunk, growing on deep soils, river banks and rocky places. Leaves and flower buds are densely covered in stellate hairs. One of the first species to flower in spring, often with Erythrina lysistemon . Flowers are abundant and sweet-scented, usually white but occasionally pale pink. Flowers (15–20 mm diameter) inconspicuous round fruits form at the centre of the brown, dead, persistent petals. Wood is bluish-grey, dense, hard and extremely tough, and was sought after during the era of building wagons and carriages.

Most of the cultivated dombeyas are shrubs with attractive pink or white flowers closely related to D. rotundifolia, such as Dombeya burgessiae or Dombeya autumnalis ; the latter was described when its habit of flowering during autumn became apparent.

Cultivation and uses

Caterpillars of the reticulate bagnest feeding on the foliage Anaphe reticulata, sosiale ruspes op Dombeya rotundifolia, Melkrivier, e.jpg
Caterpillars of the reticulate bagnest feeding on the foliage

It is drought and frost tolerant; it is popular with beekeepers due to its high nectar production that attracts a multitude of bees and butterflies. Its flowers in showy profuse displays make it a highly valued ornamental tree. It produces a good timber with a greyish-blue heartwood and suitable for woodworking. Freshly-cut timber has a strong aroma of fishmeal.

This species is host to the scale insect Lecanodiaspis tarsalis Newstead, 1917. [2] Caterpillars of Anaphe reticulata feed on the foliage during late summer and early winter, [3] and may denude the trees.

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Dalbergia melanoxylon</i> Species of plant

Dalbergia melanoxylon in french Granadille d'Afrique is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to seasonally dry regions of Africa from Senegal east to Eritrea, to southern regions of Tanzania to Mozambique and south to the north-eastern parts of South Africa. The tree is an important timber species in its native areas; it is used in the manufacture of musical instruments, sculptures vinyago in Swahili language and fine furnitures. Populations and genomic resources for genetic biodiversity maintenance in parts of its native range are threatened by overharvesting due to poor or absent conservation planning and by the species' low germination rates.

<i>Ocotea bullata</i> Species of tree

Ocotea bullata, is a species of flowering tree native to South Africa. It produces very fine and valuable timber which was formerly much sought after to make furniture. Due to over-exploitation it is now a protected species. Other names for it are Cape Walnut, Cape laurel, and laurel wood. The name "stinkwood" comes from a strong smell that is released when it is fresh felled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife of Benin</span>

Benin has varied resources of wildlife comprising flora and fauna, which are primarily protected in its two contiguous protected areas of the Pendjari National Park and W National Park. The former is known for many species of avifauna and the latter park is rich in mammals and predators. In addition, many other forest reserves are noted in the country but are not easily accessible, well protected or adequately surveyed for its wildlife resources. The protected area of Benin which is defined as a National Protected Area System is in northern Benin, mostly with a woody savanna ecosystem. It covers 10.3% of the nation and is part of the three-nation W-Arly-Pendjari Complex (WAP).

<i>Protea neriifolia</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae

Protea neriifolia, also known as the narrow-leaf sugarbush, oleander-leaved sugarbush, blue sugarbush, or the oleanderleaf protea, is a flowering plant in the genus Protea, which is endemic to South Africa.

<i>Protea gaguedi</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae

Protea gaguedi is a species of tree which belongs to the genus Protea.

<i>Protea welwitschii</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae

Protea welwitschii is a species of shrub or small tree which belongs to the genus Protea, and which occurs in bushveld and different types of grassland.

<i>Dombeya</i> Genus of flowering plants

Dombeya is a flowering plant genus. Traditionally included in the family Sterculiaceae, it is included in the expanded Malvaceae in the APG and most subsequent systematics. These plants are known by a number of vernacular names which sometimes, misleadingly, allude to the superficial similarity of flowering Dombeya to pears or hydrangeas. Therefore, the genus as a whole is often simply called dombeyas. The generic name commemorates Joseph Dombey (1742–1794), a French botanist and explorer in South America, involved in the notorious "Dombey affair", embroiling scientists and governments of France, Spain, and Britain for more than two years.

<i>Aloe marlothii</i> Species of plant in the family Asphodelaceae

Aloe marlothii is a large, single-stemmed Southern African aloe of rocky places and open flat country, occasionally growing up to 6 m tall.

<i>Afzelia africana</i> Species of legume

Afzelia africana, the African mahogany, afzelia, lenke, lengue, apa, or doussi, is a Myrmecophyte tree species in the family Fabaceae.

<i>Ochna pulchra</i> Species of tree

Ochna pulchra, also known as Lekkerbreek, is a small deciduous southern African tree up to 5 m, commonly found on deep sandy soil and rocky slopes, and belonging to the tropical family of Ochnaceae, which is widespread in Asia and Africa.

<i>Burchellia</i> Monotypic genus of plant endemic to South Africa

Burchellia is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. The genus contains only one species, viz. Burchellia bubalina, which is endemic to southern Africa: the Cape Provinces, KwaZulu-Natal and the Northern Provinces in South Africa, and Eswatini. It is commonly known as wild pomegranate (English) or wildegranaat (Afrikaans).

<i>Celtis africana</i> Species of tree

Celtis africana, the white stinkwood, is a deciduous tree in the family Cannabaceae. Its habit ranges from a tall tree in forest to a medium-sized tree in bushveld and open country, and a shrub on rocky soil. It occurs in Yemen and Somaliland and over large parts of Africa south of the Sahara. It is a common tree in the south and east of southern Africa, where the odour given off by freshly-cut green timber is similar to that of Ocotea bullata or black stinkwood.

<i>Oncoba spinosa</i> Species of tree

Oncoba spinosa, the snuff-box tree, fried egg tree or fried-egg flower, is a plant species in the genus Oncoba.

<i>Diospyros whyteana</i> Species of tree

Diospyros whyteana is a small African tree of the ebony family. Bearing dark green, strikingly glossy leaves and creamy fragrant flowers, it is increasingly cultivated in Southern African gardens as an attractive and strong ornamental tree. It can attain a height of up to 6 m.

<i>Searsia angustifolia</i> Species of tree

Searsia angustifolia, the willow karee or smalblaar, is a small, bushy, evergreen tree which is confined to the South Western Cape in South Africa.

<i>Quercus rotundifolia</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Fagaceae

Quercus rotundifolia, the holm oak or ballota oak, is an evergreen oak native to the western Mediterranean region, with the majority of the population in the Iberian Peninsula and minor populations in Northwest Africa. The species was first described by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck in 1785. It is the typical species of the Iberian dehesa or montado, where its sweet-astringent acorns are a source of food for livestock, particularly the Iberian pig. Its acorns have also been used for human nourishment since the Neolithic era. It is placed in section Ilex. Some authors described it as a subspecies of Quercus ilex.

<i>Ozoroa paniculosa</i> Species of tree

Ozoroa paniculosa, commonly known as the bushveld ozoroa or common resin tree, is a small tree belonging to the mango family or Anacardiaceae. It is native to southern Africa, where it occurs in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana and Namibia. It grows to a height of about 6 metres at high elevations, but may reach 15 metres in warmer, low-lying areas. This genus currently has some 28 species and occurs from southern Africa to the Arabian Peninsula.

<i>Senegalia afra</i> Species of legume

Senegalia afra, also known as hook-thorn or Acacia afra, is a tree that occurs commonly in southern Africa. Though it is cultivated, it often occurs naturally in Gauteng suburban gardens, together with Acacia karroo and Acacia robusta.

<i>Euclea crispa</i> Species of tree

Euclea crispa, commonly known as the blue guarri, is an Afrotropical plant species of the family Ebenaceae. The hardy and evergreen plants may form a dense stand of shrubs, or grow to tree size. It is widespread and common in the interior regions of southern Africa, and occurs northward to the tropics. Though some are present near the South African south and east coasts, they generally occur at middle to high altitudes. It is readily recognizable from its much-branched structure and dull bluish foliage colour. Those bearing lanceolate leaves may however resemble the Wild olive, another common species of the interior plateaus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tonteldoos</span> Village in Limpopo, South Africa

Tonteldoos is a village in the province of Limpopo, South Africa. It is located southeast of Roossenekal and 20 km northwest of Dullstroom, between the Steenkampsberg and Mapochsberg mountains. It is part of the Mapoch land seized by poor settlers in 1883 after the Mapoch War against King Nyabêla. Each veteran of the war was granted 8 morgens of the land, while the rest is reserved for communal pasture.

References

  1. Timberlake, J.R. (2023). "Dombeya rotundifolia". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2023: e.T39010A146816789. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T39010A146816789.en . Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  2. "Species". Archived from the original on 2013-12-02. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  3. Scholtz, Clarke H.; Holm, Erik (June 1982). "Trophic ecology of Lepidoptera larvae associated with wooded vegetation in a Savanna Ecosystem, Savanna Ecosystem Project (National Programme for Environmental Sciences, Nylsvley Study Area)" (PDF). South African National Scientific Reports (55): 19. Retrieved 27 May 2023.