| Capparis tomentosa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Capparis tomentosa growing as a shrub in Amanzimtoti, South Africa | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Brassicales |
| Family: | Capparaceae |
| Genus: | Capparis |
| Species: | C. tomentosa |
| Binomial name | |
| Capparis tomentosa | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Capparis tomentosa, the woolly caper bush [2] or African caper, is a plant in the family Capparaceae and is native to Africa.
Found in bushveld and forest from the Eastern Cape of South Africa, through KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo Province, Mozambique, Botswana, Namibia and into tropical Africa. [2] The northern part of the range extends from Senegal to Eritrea, and this species is also found in the Mascarene Islands. [1]
Mostly a robust woody climber; which in riverine vegetation may grow to the top of the canopy. [2] It may also be a straggling shrub or small tree. [3]
The stem has sharp, paired, hooked spines. Young stems and spines are covered in dense velvety yellow hairs.
The leaves form between the spines and are alternate, oblong to broadly elliptic [3] (30-80 × 15–25 mm), greyish-olive green, covered in velvet hairs (or smooth); margins entire, rolled under. [2] The petiole is 4–12 mm long [1] and velvety.
The flowers form in clusters; terminally on the primary branches or on short leafy lateral branchlets or occasionally scattered in the upper leaf-axils. They are large (35 mm) and scented, with a mass of pinkish-white stamens which are each 20–35 mm in length and may be crimson coloured at the base. [1] The sepals are boat shaped and 8–10 mm long. The petals are whitish; 15–25 mm long and 7–10 mm wide. [1]
The fruits hang from a long (25–50 mm) stalk-like branch called a gynophore. [2] [3] They are up to 40 mm (50 mm) in diameter; shiny green at first, ripening to pink or orange. The fruit contain many seeds embedded in a pinkish flesh. [1] Dried-out, emptied fruit may hang on the plant for some time.
Desert sheep, zebu calves and Nubian goats were fed varying amounts of dry Capparis tomentosa leaves and died or were killed in extremis at various times after the commencement of dosing. [4] [5] Signs of Capparis poisoning in the sheep and calves were; weakness of the hind limbs, staggering, swaying, flexion of the fetlock and phalangeal joints, pain in the sacral region, inappetence and recumbency. [4] There was a decrease in the level of total protein and calcium and an increase of glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT), ammonia, sodium and potassium in serum. [4] The main pathological changes were vacuolation of the neurons and axons in the spinal cord, with necrosis of the centrilobular hepatocytes and renal convoluted tubules and glomeruli. [4] In Capparis-fed goats, anaemia developed and the results of kidney and liver function tests were correlated with clinical abnormalities and pathologic changes. [5] The prominent features of toxicity were inappetence, locomotor disturbances, paresis especially of the hind limbs and recumbency. [5] Lesions comprised perineuronal vacuolation in the gray matter of the spinal cord at the sacral region, centrilobular hepatocellular necrosis, degeneration of the renal proximal convoluted and collecting tubules, serous atrophy of the cardiac fat and renal pelvis and straw-coloured fluid in serious cavities. [5] One goat which was receiving Capparis stem at 2.5 g/kg on an every other day basis for 8 days, developed signs of toxicosis, but recovered following cessation of plant administration. [5]
Isolated compounds were identified in Capparis tomentosa as 24-ethylcholestan-5-en-3-ol a phytosterol and a dipeptide derivative, N-benzoylphenylalanylaninol acetate. [6]
This species has traditional medicinal and magical uses in Africa. Among others it is used as a remedy for diarrhea, swelling and water retention. [7] It is a decorative plant in gardens [2] and can be used for hedging; being suitable as a security barrier because of the hooked spines. The fruit may sometimes be eaten by people.
Several species of butterfly use this plant as a larval food plant, including; Belenois gidica , Dixeia pigea , Eronia leda and Colotis evenina . [8] Game animals browse the leaves and monkeys and bushpigs eat the fruit. [2]
Capparis spinosa, the caper bush, also called Flinders rose, is a perennial plant that bears rounded, fleshy leaves and large white to pinkish-white flowers.
Conium is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apiaceae. As of December 2020, Plants of the World Online accepts six species.
Tribulus terrestris is an annual plant in the caltrop family (Zygophyllaceae) widely distributed around the world. It is adapted to thrive in dry climate locations in which few other plants can survive.
Bergerocactus emoryi is a species of cactus, known commonly as the golden-spined cereus, golden snake cactus, velvet cactus or golden club cactus. It is a relatively small cactus, but it can form dense thickets or colonies, with the dense yellow spines giving off a velvety appearance when backlit by the sun. From April to May, yellow, green-tinged flowers emerge, which transform into reddish, globular fruit. This species is native to the California Floristic Province, and is found in northwestern Baja California and a small part of California, in San Diego County and on the southern Channel Islands. Where the Mediterranean climate of the California Floristic Province collides with the subtropical Sonoran Desert near El Rosario, hybrids with two other species of cacti are found. It is the sole member of the monotypic genus Bergerocactus, named after German botanist Alwin Berger.
Persin is a fungicidal toxin present in the avocado. Persin is an oil-soluble compound structurally similar to a fatty acid, a colourless oil, and it leaches into the body of the fruit from the seeds.
Ceratophyllum demersum, commonly known as hornwort, rigid hornwort, coontail, or coon's tail, is a species of Ceratophyllum. It is a submerged, free-floating aquatic plant, with a cosmopolitan distribution, native to all continents except Antarctica. It is a harmful weed introduced in New Zealand. It is also a popular aquarium plant.
Tilia tomentosa, known as silver linden in the US and silver lime in the UK, is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae, native to southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia, from Romania and the Balkans east to western Turkey, occurring at moderate altitudes.
Gutierrezia sarothrae is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names broom snakeweed, broomweed, snakeweed, and matchweed. It is a subshrub native to much of the western half of North America, from western Canada to northern Mexico, and can be found in a number of arid, grassland, and mountain habitats. It can be toxic to livestock in large quantities, due mainly to the presence of saponins.
Dichapetalum cymosum, commonly known as gifblaar from Afrikaans, or occasionally by its English translation, poison leaf, is a small prostrate shrub occurring in northern parts of Southern Africa in the family Dichapetalaceae. 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 it. The majority (70%) of fatal cases are in Limpopo province, with 10% each in North West, Mpumalanga, and Gauteng. Fluoroacetate, the poison used to synthetically produce Compound 1080 used extensively in New Zealand, occurs in all parts of the plant and is responsible for the toxic effects shown.
Scadoxus cyrtanthiflorus is a herbaceous plant endemic to the Rwenzori Mountains of east tropical Africa. Unusually for the genus Scadoxus its tubular blooms are pendant. It is sometimes grown as an ornamental plant in heated greenhouses.
Cotyledon tomentosa is a species of flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae, native to South Africa. It is a succulent evergreen shrub with large chunky ovate fuzzy green leaves. Its autonymous subspecies is known as the bear's paw because of the prominent "teeth" at the tips of its leaves. It forms large orange bell-shaped flowers in spring. In its native habitat, the Little Karoo region of South Africa, Cotyledons usually grow in rocky quartz fields where they have excellent drainage provided by very porous soil.
AnacampserosL. is a genus comprising about a hundred species of small perennial succulent plants native to Southern Africa, Ethiopia and Latin America. The botanical name Anacampseros is an ancient one for herbs supposed to restore lost love.
Capparis arborea is a bush or small tree occurring in eastern Australia. The habitat is rainforest; usually riverine, littoral or the drier rainforests. Distributed from the Hunter River, New South Wales to Cape Melville in tropical Queensland. Common names include native pomegranate, wild lime, wild lemon and brush caper berry.
Dixeia pigea, the ant-heap small white or ant-heap white, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae that is native to Africa.
Tetradymia argyraea is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names spineless horsebrush and gray horsebrush. It is native to western North America.
Capparis fascicularis, the zigzag caper-bush, is a plant in the Capparaceae family and is native to Africa.
Capparis lasiantha is an endemic Australian plant with a range that extends from the Kimberley region through the Northern Territory and Queensland to northern New South Wales, primarily in drier inland areas although the species extends to the coast in Central Queensland. Common names are numerous and include wyjeelah, nepine, split jack, nipang creeper, nipan, native orange and bush caper.
Diospyros dichrophylla (Gand.) De Winter is a Southern African tree belonging to the ebony family of Ebenaceae and closely related to the Persimmon.
Scadoxus multiflorus is a bulbous plant native to most of sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal to Somalia to South Africa. It is also native to Arabian Peninsula and to the Seychelles. It is naturalized in Mexico and in the Chagos Archipelago.It is also found in Indian peninsula. It is grown as an ornamental plant for its brilliantly coloured flowers, either in containers or in the ground in where the climate is suitable. There are three recognized subspecies. Strongly toxic like other Scadoxus species, it has been used as a component of arrow poisons and fishing poisons, as well as in traditional medicine. Common names, some of which are used for other species, include blood lily, ball lily, fireball lily, blood flower, Katherine-wheel, oxtongue lily, poison root and powderpuff lily.
Scadoxus cinnabarinus is a herbaceous plant from tropical rainforest in Africa. It is native to Western and Central Africa from Sierra Leone in the far west to Angola in the south. It has been reported from Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Niger, Sierra Leone, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, São Tomé, Zaire, Uganda, and Angola.