| Ilex mitis | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Aquifoliales |
| Family: | Aquifoliaceae |
| Genus: | Ilex |
| Species: | I. mitis |
| Binomial name | |
| Ilex mitis | |
Ilex mitis (commonly called Cape holly, African holly, waterboom or umDuma) is a tall, dense, evergreen tree that is indigenous to Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. It makes an excellent fast-growing hedge for gardens - growing tall, straight and dense. [2]
If not pruned, Ilex mitis can grow to a height of 20 meters or more. Its trunk is straight, grey or brown and usually spotted while it produces a dense, even canopy. Young growth and leaf-stalks tend to be purple or red. The simply shaped, pointed, shiny-green leaves have wavy margins that are sometimes slightly serrated. The tree can be identified by its purple or maroon leaf stalks and the leaves’ strongly impressed midribs.
The small, white, scented flowers appear in spring. Ilex mitis is dioecious, with separate male and female trees.
The bright red fruits ripen in autumn, creating a colourful display and attracting a variety of birds.
This is the only holly (Ilex) species native to sub-Saharan Africa. It has a wide but discontinuous distribution in west, central, east, and southern Africa.
It has an Afromontane distribution. In tropical Africa it is mostly found at higher elevations, growing as high as 3,150 meters.
In West Africa it is found in high-elevation forests in the Guinea Highlands of Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and in the Cameroon Highlands of Nigeria and Cameroon. It inhabits the islands of Bioko, Sao Tomé, and Príncipe in the Gulf of Guinea. It is found throughout the highlands of eastern Africa, including the Ethiopian Highlands and the highlands bordering the Great Rift Valley. It is also native to the central highlands of Angola and the highlands of Madagascar. [1]
In southern Africa it inhabits the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe and Mozambique. In South Africa it grows naturally in all provinces, from Cape Town in the south to the border with Zimbabwe. It is usually found growing on the banks of rivers and in moist spots in Afro-montane forest, as low as sea level along the southern coast. [1]
It is most often found in moist montane forests and in riparian forests. It is also found in high-elevation thickets, and in open-canopied forests in association with Podocarpus latifolius and Syzygium guineense . In Ethiopia it grows in association with Galiniera saxifraga between 1,950 and 2,340 meters elevation. Young trees grow best in sun or light shade, and mature trees tolerate drought and frost. [1]
In southern Africa trees are pollinated by wasps and bees. Seeds are likely dispersed by birds. [1]
There are two accepted varieties. [3] Ilex mitis var. mitis covers most of the species' range. Ilex mitis var. schliebenii is limited to the Uluguru Mountains and Lukwangule Plateau of Tanzania. [4] [5] Var. schleibenii is threatened with habitat loss from forest clearance for timber harvesting and agriculture, and its conservation status is assessed as vulnerable. [5]
This is a fast-growing tree, growing nearly a meter a year in ideal conditions. It grows especially well in wet areas like beside lakes or rivers and it tolerates frost, making it suitable for colder climates. Fresh seed will usually germinate, but should first be dried out a bit. If kept moist after planting, the young plants usually sprout several weeks later. It transplants well, but needs to be protected from drying out and direct sun whilst young.[ citation needed ]
It has no known diseases or pests, though in the wild it is one of the favourite foods of elephants.[ citation needed ]
Curtisia dentata is a flowering tree from Southern Africa. It is the sole species in genus Curtisia, which was originally classed as a type of "dogwood" (Cornaceae), but is now placed in its own unique family Curtisiaceae.
The Eastern Highlands, also known as the Manica Highlands, is a mountain range on the border of Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The Eastern Highlands extend north and south for about 300 kilometres (190 mi) through Zimbabwe's Manicaland Province and Mozambique's Manica Province.
The Madagascar subhumid forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion that covers most of the Central Highlands of the island of Madagascar. They are included in the WWF's Global 200 list of outstanding ecoregions. Most of the original habitats have been lost due to human pressure.
Laurel forest, also called laurisilva or laurissilva, is a type of subtropical forest found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable, mild temperatures. The forest is characterized by broadleaf tree species with evergreen, glossy and elongated leaves, known as "laurophyll" or "lauroid". Plants from the laurel family (Lauraceae) may or may not be present, depending on the location.
Ilex aquifolium, the holly, common holly, English holly, European holly, or occasionally Christmas holly, is a species of flowering plant in the family Aquifoliaceae, native to western and southern Europe, northwest Africa, and southwest Asia. It is regarded as the type species of the genus Ilex, which by association is also called "holly". It is an evergreen tree or shrub found, for example, in shady areas of forests of oak and in beech hedges. In the British Isles it is one of very few native hardwood evergreen trees. It has a great capacity to adapt to different conditions and is a pioneer species that repopulates the margins of forests or clearcuts.
The term Malabar rainforests refers to one or more distinct ecoregions recognized by biogeographers:
The Afromontane regions are subregions of the Afrotropical realm, one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms, covering the plant and animal species found in the mountains of Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula. The Afromontane regions of Africa are discontinuous, separated from each other by lower-lying areas, and are sometimes referred to as the Afromontane archipelago, as their distribution is analogous to a series of sky islands.
The Talamancan montane forests ecoregion, in the tropical moist broadleaf forest biome, are in montane Costa Rica and western Panama in Central America.
The Cameroonian Highlands forests, also known as the Cameroon Highlands forests, are a montane tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion located on the range of mountains that runs inland from the Gulf of Guinea and forms the border between Cameroon and Nigeria. This is an area of forest and grassland which has become more populous as land is cleared for agriculture.
Syzygium guineense is a leafy forest tree of the family Myrtaceae, found in many parts of Africa both wild and domesticated. Both its fruits and leaves are edible; the pulp and the fruit skin are sucked and the seed discarded. It is sometimes called "waterberry", but this may also refer to other species of Syzygium.
Brabejum is a genus of a single species of large evergreen tree, Brabejum stellatifolium in the family Proteaceae, commonly called wild almond, bitter almond or ghoeboontjie. It is restricted in the wild to South Africa's Western Cape province, where it grows in thickets along the banks of streams. The plant is of botanical interest as being Africa's only member of the large grevilleoid subfamily. It is a bushy small tree with branches widely at ground level and numerous erect vigorous stems. Leaves grow up to 6 in (15 cm) long, narrow and bluntly toothed, appear at intervals along the branches, mostly in whorls of 6. In summer, the plant bears white flowers densely crowded on spikes arising from rusty buds at the leaf axils. The fruits to 2 in (5 cm) long, magenta to reddish brown, similar to an almond, appear in autumn. The nut is too bitter to eat; however, in earlier times it was boiled, roasted, and ground to make a "coffee" drink.
The Angolan montane forest-grassland mosaic ecoregion is located on the east-facing inland side of the belt of mountains that stands parallel to the coast of Angola, 50–100 km inland.
Cunonia capensis, the butterspoon tree, butterknife tree, African red alder, red alder or rooiels, is a small tree found in the afromontane forests of southern Africa, and along rivers. It is grown as an ornamental in gardens for its attractive glossy foliage and its clusters of tiny, scented, white flowers. It is the only one of 24 species of Cunonia to occur outside of New Caledonia in the Pacific.
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.
Southern Afrotemperate Forest is a kind of tall, shady, multilayered indigenous South African forest. This is the main forest-type in the south-western part of South Africa, naturally extending from the Cape Peninsula in the west, as far as Port Elizabeth in the east. In this range, it usually occurs in small forest pockets, surrounded by fynbos vegetation.
The East African montane forests is a montane tropical moist forest ecoregion of eastern Africa. The ecoregion comprises several separate areas above 2000 meters in the mountains of South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania.
The Chimanimani Mountains are a mountain range on the border of Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The mountains are in the southern portion of the Eastern Highlands, or Manica Highlands, a belt of highlands that extend north and south along the international border, between the Zambezi and Save rivers.
The Nimba Range forms part of the southern extent of the Guinea Highlands. The highest peak is Mount Richard-Molard on the border of Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea, at 1,752 m (5,748 ft). "Mount Nimba" may refer either to Mount Richard-Molard or to the entire range. Other peaks include Grand Rochers at 1,694 m (5,558 ft), Mont Sempéré at 1,682 m (5,518 ft), Mont Piérré Richaud at 1,670 m (5,480 ft), Mont Tô at 1,675 m (5,495 ft), and Mont LeClerc 1,577 m (5,174 ft), all of them are located in Guinea. Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve of Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire covers significant portions of the Nimba Range.
Pterophylla parviflora, formerly known as Weinmannia parviflora, is a species of plant in the family Cunoniaceae. It is endemic to the Society Islands of French Polynesia.
Nothofagus starkenborghiorum is a species of tree in the family Nothofagaceae. It is native to New Guinea and New Britain. It grows in montane rain forests, and occasionally in lowland rain forests.
