Sideroxylon inerme

Last updated

Sideroxylon inerme
Sideroxylon inerme - Milkwood - Cape Town 6.JPG
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Sapotaceae
Genus: Sideroxylon
Species:
S. inerme
Binomial name
Sideroxylon inerme
L. (1753)
Synonyms [1]
  • Roemeria inermis(L.) Thunb. (1798)
  • Calvaria inermis(L.) Dubard (1912)

Sideroxylon inerme (aMasethole or white milkwood, Afrikaans : wit-melkhout, Xhosa : Ximafana, Zulu : Umakhwelafingqane) [2] is a southern and eastern African coastal tree, with dense foliage, black berries and small, foetid, greenish flowers. The tree's generic name means "Iron-wood" in Greek, referring to its very hard timber.

Contents

It is one of South Africa's "Protected Trees" and several specimens are provincial heritage sites. [3] This is the only member of the genus Sideroxylon in Southern Africa.

Distribution

Cape milkwood trees in typical coastal habitat Sideroxylon inerme South African Milkwood habit IMG 4863.JPG
Cape milkwood trees in typical coastal habitat

Sideroxylon inerme trees are scattered through the coastal woodlands and littoral forests of southern and eastern Africa, from the Cape Provinces of South Africa in the south to Somalia in the north, and on Aldabra, the Comoro Islands, and the Mozambique Channel Islands in the western Indian Ocean. [1] Historically, dense forests of large milkwood trees used to exist along the coast and bays of Cape Town, especially at Noordhoek, Macassar and Gordons Bay. The milkwood is not endangered but it is one of South Africa's Protected Trees, which means that it is illegal to damage, move or destroy them. [3]

Description

Sideroxylon inerme is a semi-coastal sturdy broadleaf evergreen tree with dense foliage, displays of white bisexual flowers and edible purplish-black berries. It boasts leathery, spiral leaves, which, like the berries, contain milky latex. Young branches and new leaves are always covered with fine hairs. The tree can reach 15 m.[ citation needed ]

The milkwood has considerable value in traditional medicine and attracts birds, monkeys and other animals to its flowers and fruits : Speckled mousebirds eat the flowers ; birds, bats, monkeys and bush pigs eat the fruit. It is also an effective firebreak and is cultivated for that purpose. [3]

Subspecies

Sideroxylon inerme includes three subspecies: [1]

Historical aspects

The "Treaty Tree" in Woodstock, Cape Town. Photo 5 Treaty Tree. Cnr Treaty and Spring St, Woodstock. Cape Town..JPG
The "Treaty Tree" in Woodstock, Cape Town.

The white milkwood has great significance in South Africa's heritage, with three specimens proclaimed as provincial heritage sites:

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Curtisia</i> Genus of trees

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mossel Bay</span> Town in Western Cape, South Africa

Mossel Bay is a harbour town of about 120,000 people on the Southern Cape of South Africa. It is an important tourism and farming region of the Western Cape Province. Mossel Bay lies 400 kilometres east of the country's seat of parliament, Cape Town, and 400 km west of Port Elizabeth, the largest city in the Eastern Cape. The older parts of the town occupy the north-facing side of the Cape St Blaize Peninsula, whilst the newer suburbs straddle the Peninsula and have spread eastwards along the sandy shore of the Bay.

Ironwood is a common name for many woods or plants that have a reputation for hardness, or specifically a wood density that is heavier than water, although usage of the name ironwood in English may or may not indicate a tree that yields such heavy wood.

Melkbos is an Afrikaans word which may refer to:

<i>Sideroxylon</i> Genus of trees

Sideroxylon is a genus of trees in the family Sapotaceae described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753. They are collectively known as bully trees. The generic name is derived from the Greek words σιδηρος (sideros), meaning "iron", and ξύλον (xylon), meaning "wood."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KwaZulu-Natal Dune Forest</span> Subtropical forest type from the coastal dunes of KwaZulu-Natal, South Afric

KwaZulu-Natal Dune Forest is a subtropical forest type that was once found almost continuously along the coastal dunes of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. This vegetation type develops in sheltered areas behind the littoral zone, where with some protection from the salt wind it may develop with canopies as tall as 30 m. It still exists in protected areas, but much has been degraded by human activity. Coastal dune forest covers approximately 1% of the land area of KwaZulu-Natal, and is a habitat type seriously threatened from human population pressure and development, particularly titanium mining.

<i>Mimusops caffra</i> Species of tree

Mimusops caffra is a species of tree in family Sapotaceae. This tree is found in coastal dune vegetation in Southern Africa from the Eastern Cape, through KwaZulu-Natal to southern Mozambique.

<i>Chrysoritis thysbe</i> Species of butterfly

Chrysoritis thysbe, the opal copper or common opal, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in South Africa.

<i>Cassine peragua</i> Species of tree

Cassine peragua, also known as Cape saffron, bastard saffron and forest spoonwood, is a medium-sized tree with fragrant flowers, decorative fruits and a saffron-coloured trunk. It is indigenous to the Afro-montane forests of South Africa.

<i>Canthium inerme</i> Species of tree

Canthium inerme (Turkey-berry) is a tough, adaptable medium-sized tree from South Africa. It bears small edible fruits and has a variety of uses in traditional medicine.

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

Euclea racemosa is a small to medium-sized evergreen tree that is indigenous to the Indian Ocean coast of Africa from Egypt to South Africa, as well as in Comoros, Oman and Yemen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Flats Dune Strandveld</span> Endangered vegetation type endemic to the coastal areas around Cape Town

Cape Flats Dune Strandveld is an endangered vegetation type. This is a unique type of Cape Strandveld that is endemic to the coastal areas around Cape Town, including the Cape Flats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Afrotemperate Forest</span> Main indigenous forest-type in the south-western part of South Africa

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macassar Dunes Conservation Area</span> Coastal nature reserve in Macassar, Cape Town, South Africa

Macassar Dunes Conservation Area is a 1,116-hectare (2,760-acre) coastal nature reserve in Macassar, within the City of Cape Town, South Africa.

<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>Donella viridifolia</i> Species of tree

Donella viridifolia, commonly known as fluted milkwood, is a potentially large species of evergreen milkwood tree that occurs in East African coastal forests, southerly coastal forest mosaics and in some inland forests of the tropics and subtropics.

<i>Boscia foetida</i> Species of tree

Boscia foetida, commonly known as the stink shepherd's tree and the smelly shepherd's bush, is an evergreen shrub or tree that is native to the warmer and drier parts southern Africa. It is found in semi-desert and arid bushveld, and in the west it occurs commonly in areas which are otherwise sparsely wooded. It is known for the particularly unpleasant smell of its flowers which appear during early spring, to which its specific name foetida alludes. Its freshly cut wood likewise has an unpleasant smell, and has traditional medicinal and magical uses, for instance as a protection against lightning. In central Botswana the village of Mopipi is named after this species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treaty Tree</span> Historical landmark in Cape Town

The Treaty Tree is a 500-year-old white milkwood tree on Treaty Road and south of the rail line in Woodstock, Cape Town, South Africa. Peace was made under the tree on 10 January 1806 after the Battle of Blaauwberg, thereby starting the second British occupation of the Cape and leading to the permanent establishment of the Cape Colony as a British possession. Until 1834 slaves were sold and convicts hanged under it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Post Office Tree</span> Tree in Mossel Bay, South Africa

The Post Office Tree is a famous milkwood tree in Mossel Bay, South Africa that was used by early Portuguese explorers as a post office. It is located in the grounds of the Bartholomeu Dias Museum Complex in Market Street.

<i>Allophylus natalensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Allophylus natalensis, commonly known as the dune false crowberry or dune false currant, is a species of plant in the genus Allophylus native to south-eastern Africa.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Sideroxylon inerme L. Plants of the World Online . Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  2. "Protected Trees" (PDF). Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, Republic of South Africa. 3 May 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 July 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 Sideroxylon inerme in Freddie Bosman' site, from the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden.
  4. Sideroxylon inerme Archived 2012-05-30 at the Wayback Machine in PROTA4U site, a database and use guide for African plants.
  5. "The Portuguese in South Africa". ancestor24.com. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  6. "STILBAAI'S SPECIAL MILKWOOD TREE". My Stilbaai.co.za Business Restaurant Accommodation Tourism Guide Southern Cape. Retrieved 2023-05-23.