Ochna pulchra

Last updated

Ochna pulchra
Ochna pulchra30.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Ochnaceae
Genus: Ochna
Species:
O. pulchra
Binomial name
Ochna pulchra

Ochna pulchra, also known as Lekkerbreek (Afrikaans 'breaking easily', i.e. 'brittle'), 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.

Contents

Description

Its bark is distinctive, peeling in thin flakes to expose creamy-white underbark, similar in appearance to that of Corymbia maculata , guava or Pride-of-India.

Spring foliage has an oily appearance to the surface and ranges from light green to bronze or bright red, turning to a fresh, shiny green when mature. Lemon-yellow flowers appear in great abundance in spring, the persistent yellow-green calyx turning pink then bright red. The fruit, a kidney-shaped drupe, is initially green maturing to black.

Range

The tree occurs in the central Transvaal and northern Kruger National Park, extending further to Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Angola, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

It is an indicator species of so-called Gifveld, that is veld where the toxic Dichapetalum cymosum is present, [1] which is small and easily overlooked.

Ochna pulchra16.jpg
Inflorescences in spring
Ochna pulchra23.jpg
Emerging spring foliage
Ochna pulchra29.jpg
Habit and habitat

Related Research Articles

<i>Ochna</i>

Ochna is a genus comprising 86 species of evergreen trees, shrubs and shrublets belonging to the flowering plant family Ochnaceae. These species are native to tropical woodlands of Africa, the Mascarenes and Asia. Species of this genus are usually called ochnas, bird's-eye bushes or Mickey-mouse plants, a name derived from the shape of the drupelet fruit. The name of this genus comes from the Greek word Ochne, used by Homer and meaning wild pear, as the leaves are similar in appearance. Some species, including Ochna integerrima and O. serrulata, are cultivated as decorative plants.

<i>Searsia lancea</i> A species of tree belonging to the cashew and sumac family

Searsia lancea commonly known as karee, karree (Afrikaans), is an evergreen, frost hardy, drought resistant tree, which can reach up to 8 metres in height with a 5 metre spread. In North America, where it is naturalized, it is known as African sumac and willow rhus. It is one of the most common trees on the Highveld and in the Bushveld in South Africa, but not found in the Lowveld.

<i>Buddleja saligna</i> Species of tree

Buddleja saligna, the false olive or bastard olive, is almost endemic to South Africa where it has a wide distribution. It occurs most often in ravines and against outcrops, and is distributed from coastal elevations to the central plateau at elevations of < 2000 m. The species was first described and named by Willdenow in 1809.

<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 caffra</i> Species of African sugarbush

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 angolensis is also known as the Angolan protea, northern protea or northern sugarbush. In Afrikaans it is known as the noordelijke suikerbos. This is a dwarf, multistemmed shrub or small straggling tree occurring in open wooded grassland and miombo.

<i>Protea aurea</i>

Protea aurea, the long-bud sugarbush, is a shrub or small tree with a single trunk occurring in mountain fynbos, usually on cool, moist, southern slopes. It is endemic to the Cape Provinces of South Africa.

<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 6m tall.

<i>Dichapetalum cymosum</i> Species of plant

Dichapetalum cymosum, commonly known as gifblaar from Afrikaans, or occasionally its English translation, poison leaf, is a small prostrate shrub occurring in the northern parts of Southern Africa. It is notable as a common cause of lethal cattle poisoning in this region and is considered one of the 'big 6' toxic plants of cattle in South Africa. A 1996 estimate of plant poisonings in South Africa attributes 8% of cattle mortality caused by poisonous plants to gifblaar. The majority (70%) of fatal cases are in Limpopo province, with 10% each in North West, Mpumalanga, and Gauteng. Fluoroacetate occurs in all parts of the plant and is responsible for the toxic effects shown.

<i>Ochna serrulata</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Ochnaceae

Ochna serrulata is an ornamental garden plant in the family Ochnaceae which is indigenous to South Africa. It is planted in southern African gardens and is an invasive species in Australia and New Zealand.

<i>Gymnosporia heterophylla</i> Species of tree

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.

<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 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>Kiggelaria</i> Genus of trees

Kiggelaria africana is a large, robust, low-branching African tree, and is currently the only accepted species in the genus Kiggelaria.

<i>Croton gratissimus</i>

Croton gratissimus, is a tropical African shrub or small tree with corky bark, growing to 8 m and belonging to the family of Euphorbiaceae or spurges. Young twigs are slender and angular and covered in silver and rust-coloured scales.

<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>Erythrina zeyheri</i> Species of legume

Erythrina zeyheri, commonly known as the ploughbreaker, is a deciduous, geoxylic subshrub and member of the Fabaceae, which is endemic to southern Africa. It grows no more than 60 cm tall and occurs naturally in the higher altitude grasslands of South Africa's central plateau, and that of adjacent Lesotho. They favour deep clay soil in the vicinity of creeks and marshes, and often form colonies. Its specific name commemorates the 19th century botanist, Karl Zeyher.

<i>Ficus ingens</i> Species of fig

Ficus ingens, the red-leaved fig, is a fig species with an extensive range in the subtropical to dry tropical regions of Africa and southern Arabia. Despite its specific name, which means "huge", or "vast", it is usually a shrub or tree of modest proportions. It is a fig of variable habit depending on the local climate and substrate, typically a stunted subshrub on elevated rocky ridges, or potentially a large tree on warmer plains and lowlands. In 1829 the missionary Robert Moffat found a rare giant specimen, into which seventeen thatch huts of a native tribe were placed, so as to be out of reach of lions.

<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.

<i>Protorhus longifolia</i> Species of tree

Protorhus longifolia, the red beech, is a medium to large, mostly dioecious species of tree in the family Anacardiaceae. It is native to South Africa and Eswatini, where it occurs in well-watered situations from coastal elevations to 1,250 m. The leafy, evergreen trees have rounded crowns and usually grow between 6 and 10 m tall, but regularly taller in forest.

Osyris daruma is a species of plant in the family Santalaceae.

References

  1. "Tree society newsletter". www.lind.org.zw. Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2017-08-04.

Bibliography

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Ochna pulchra at Wikimedia Commons