Gymnosporia buxifolia | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Celastrales |
Family: | Celastraceae |
Genus: | Gymnosporia |
Species: | G. buxifolia |
Binomial name | |
Gymnosporia buxifolia (L.) Szyszyl. (1888) | |
Synonyms [1] | |
|
Gymnosporia buxifolia is a species of plant in the bittersweet family (Celastraceae) native to southern Africa. [2] It is commonly known as the pioneer spike-thorn or common spike-thorn. [3] It ranges from Angola and Mozambique to South Africa. [1]
Gymnosporia buxifolia is a variable evergreen shrub or tree. [4]
Gymnosporia buxifolia grows up to 9 metres tall. It has light brown bark that darkens with age, eventually becoming flakey, rough, corky and fissured. It may be unarmed or armed with long straight spines. [5] up to six inches (15 centimeters) in length; [6] the longest unbranched thorns of any Dicot, a record shared with Vachellia karroo. It needs to be added that certain cacti have spines (not thorns) which are longer. The leaves are green, slightly paler on underside, glabrous, often borne clustered on very short dwarf spur-branchlets in the axils of the spines or infrequently on young spines or arranged spirally on new growth. The leaves are variable in shape, but typically narrowly obovate to oblanceolate, 25mm to 45mm long and 10mm to 25mm wide with a toothed margin, usually on the upper half of the leaf, sometimes emarginate. Flowers are borne in heads, small, white with strong odour. The fruit is a more or less spherical, 3 lobed capsule, about 10mm diameter, green-yellow becoming grey-brown and wrinkled when dry. [7] It grows in forests, scrub, grassland, woodland and riverine habitats. [4]
It is listed as Least Concern in the Redlist of South African Plants. [3]
Searsia lucida, previously known as Rhus lucida, and commonly known as the varnished kuni-rhus (English) or blinktaaibos (Afrikaans).
Protea caffra, native to South Africa, is a small tree or shrub which occurs in open or wooded grassland, usually on rocky ridges. Its leaves are leathery and hairless. The flower head is solitary or in clusters of 3 or 4 with the involucral bracts a pale red, pink or cream colour. The fruit is a densely hairy nut. The species is highly variable and has several subspecies.
Protea eximia, the broad-leaved sugarbush, is a shrub from South Africa that may become a small tree. It occurs in mountain fynbos on mainly acidic sandy soils; the species was very well known under its old name of Protea latifolia. The flowers have awns that are covered in purple-black velvety hairs, and are contained within a series of rings of involucral bracts that have the appearance of petals. The fruit is a densely hairy nut, many of which are inserted on a woody base. The flowers are borne terminally on long shoots, and have a tendency to become very untidy as they age.
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.
Senecio barbertonicus, the Barberton groundsel or succulent bush senecio, is an evergreen succulent shrub of the family Asteraceae and genus Senecio, native to Southern Africa, named after one of its native localities Barberton and is now also being cultivated elsewhere for its drought resistance, clusters of sweetly scented, golden-yellow, tufted flower heads in winter and attractiveness to butterflies, the painted lady butterfly in particular.
Gymnosporia is an Old World genus of plants, that comprise suffrutices, shrubs and trees. It was formerly considered congeneric with Maytenus, but more recent investigations separated it based on the presence of achyblasts and spines, alternate leaves or fascicles of leaves, an inflorescence that forms a dichasium, mostly unisexual flowers, and fruit forming a dehiscent capsule, with an aril on the seed. It is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants.
Gymnosporia dhofarensis is a species of plant in the family Celastraceae and is found in Oman and Yemen. It is an intricately branched spiny shrub or small tree with its leaves arranged alternately or clustered on short shoots. The flowers have white or cream petals and the fruit are purple or red. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Gymnosporia heterophylla, the common spike-thorn, is a small, hardy, deciduous African tree up to 5m tall, occurring in rocky places with a wide distribution from Ethiopia, the Sudan and the Congo, south to the Cape Province and west to Angola and Namibia, as well as the neighbouring islands of Madagascar and Saint Helena, with a closely related species from Mauritius.
In plant morphology, thorns, spines, and prickles, and in general spinose structures, are hard, rigid extensions or modifications of leaves, roots, stems, or buds with sharp, stiff ends, and generally serve the same function: physically defending plants against herbivory.
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.
Gymnosporia tenuispina is a Southern African shrub or small tree of about 2 metres in height belonging to the family Celastraceae.
Trichocladus crinitus is a species of the genus Trichocladus, in the family Hamamelidaceae. It is also called black witch-hazel.
Trichocladus grandiflorus is a species in the genus Trichocladus, in the family Hamamelidaceae. It is also called splendid witch-hazel.
Trichocladus ellipticus is a species in the genus Trichocladus, in the family Hamamelidaceae. It is also called white witch-hazel.
Gymnosporia nemorosa is a spiny, somewhat sprawling evergreen shrub or small tree with drooping branches growing to some 5 m tall and found along forest edges in Mpumalanga, Eswatini, KwaZulu-Natal south to the Garden Route in the Southern Cape. In Maputaland the species adopts the form of a geoxylic suffrutex or ‘underground’ tree, with shoots sprouting from its woody, underground axis.
Drimia elata is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae. It is widely distributed in eastern and southern Africa.
Oncocalyx quinquenervius is a parasitic plant species in the family Loranthaceae native to South Africa. It is also known as banded matchflower.
Asparagus multiflorus is a robust shrub or climber of the Asparagus genus, that is indigenous to the southern Cape regions of South Africa.
Tetragonia spicata is a Southern African perennial shrub or scrambler.