| Thilachium africanum | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Brassicales |
| Family: | Capparaceae |
| Genus: | Thilachium |
| Species: | T. africanum |
| Binomial name | |
| Thilachium africanum Lour. | |
Thilachium africanum is a shrub or small tree within the family Capparaceae. It is found in Eastern and Southern Africa, from Kenya to Northeastern parts of South Africa and also in Madagascar [1]
The species grows up to 7 meters tall with tuberous roots; branches are brown or grey and lenticellate. [2] Leaves: simple or 3-foliate; leaflets obovate to elliptic in outline and with a leathery surface, the leaflets are about 3-9 cm long and 1-5 cm wide, apex is obtuse to rounded while base is cuneate to rounded. [2] Inflorescence is terminal or axillary raceme like, white and green with spreading and wavy stamens. [3] Fruit is cucumber like in shape, ellipsoid and up to 6 cm long and contains numerous seeds. [2]
Occurs in deciduous forests, opens woodland and riverine forests of Eastern Africa and in thickets. [4]
Extracts of the species are used in preparations to ease pain, bark extracts are used to treat snake bites and diarrhoea among the Samburu people of Kenya. [4] The tuberous roots are boiled and then drained a few times to reduce toxicity. [3]
Aralia spinosa, commonly known as devil's walking stick, is a woody species of plant in the genus Aralia, family Araliaceae, native to eastern North America. The various names refer to the viciously sharp, spiny stems, petioles, and even leaf midribs. It has also been known as Angelica-tree.
Ricinodendron is a plant genus in the family Euphorbiaceae first described as a genus in 1864. It includes only one known species, Ricinodendron heudelotii, native to tropical Africa from Senegal + Liberia east to Sudan and Tanzania and south to Mozambique and Angola. It produces an economically important oilseed. The tree is known as munguella (Angola), njangsa (Cameroon), bofeko (Zaire), wama (Ghana), okhuen (Nigeria), kishongo (Uganda), akpi, djansang, essang, ezezang and njasang. Two varieties of the tree species are recognized R. heudelotii var. heudelotii in Ghana and R. heudelotii var. africanum in Nigeria and westwards.
Fraxinus angustifolia, the narrow-leaved ash, is a species of Fraxinus native to Central Europe and Southern Europe, Northwest Africa, and Southwest Asia.
Ficus lutea is a medium to large sized deciduous tree in the family Moraceae. It is commonly known as the giant-leaved fig or Lagos rubbertree. These trees occur from the Eastern Cape of South Africa to Tropical Africa.
Acanthopale pubescens is a species of the genus Acanthopale of the family Acanthaceae. The species occurs in East and Southern Africa. Acanthopale pubescensis also known as Herayye in Ethiopia.
Newtonia hildebrandtii, the Lebombo wattle, is a medium-sized tree native to eastern Africa. It is a protected tree in South Africa.
Entandrophragma caudatum, or mountain mahogany, is a large Southern African tree belonging to the mahogany family and found in eastern and north eastern South Africa, Eswatini, Botswana, Angola, the Caprivi Strip region of Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi. Kew currently recognises 12 other species of Entandrophragma, all with a tropical and sub-tropical African distribution.
Neocussonia umbellifera is an evergreen to semi-deciduous Southern African tree of 15-20m growing in escarpment and coastal forest in Malawi, through eastern Zimbabwe and Mozambique along the east coast to South Africa, as far south as the Garden Route. It belongs to the Araliaceae or Cabbage Tree family, and was formerly placed in the genus Schefflera, created by J.R.Forst. & G.Forst. in 1776 to honour the 18th century German physician and botanist Johann Peter Ernst von Scheffler of Danzig, and not to be confused with writer and physician Jacob Christoph Scheffler (1698-1745) of Altdorf bei Nürnberg.
Cnestis polyphylla, or itch pod, is a liane or scrambling shrub belonging to the family Connaraceae and occurring south from Kenya in East Tropical Africa through Mozambique and Zimbabwe to Southern Africa where it is found in coastal and escarpment forest in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Eswatini and KwaZulu-Natal, and further south to the Eastern Cape. It also grows on the Indian Ocean islands of Madagascar, Mauritius and Réunion. The genus has at least 13 species with many still unresolved. They are distributed mainly in tropical Africa and nearby islands, but extend to SE Asia and China.
Berberis holstii is a spiny evergreen shrub assigned to the barberry family, with simple leaves, hanging panicles with a few yellow flowers and eventually blackish-blue berries. It is one out of only species of Berberis that grow in the wild in Africa, where it can be found at high altitudes in Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Malawi. It is also reported from Yemen and Oman. In Malawi it is known as Kayunga, while in Ethiopia it is called Gewo, Yeset af in Amharic, as well as Zinkila, a name also used in the Afar language, and Godxantool in the Somali language.
Lannea welwitschii is a species of tree in the family Anacardiaceae. It is native to the tropical rainforests of West and Central Africa. The timber is used to make furniture and utensils and for many other purposes, the fruits can be eaten, and the bark is used to produce a dye, for making rope and in traditional medicine.
Dracaena surculosa, called the gold dust dracaena and spotted dracaena, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, native to west and west-central tropical Africa, from Guinea to the Republic of the Congo. Its cultivar 'Florida Beauty' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Senegalia dudgeonii is a small perennial tree that grows up to 9 meters tall. It belongs to the Fabaceae family and endemic Sudano-Sahelian and Guinea savannah zones of West Africa.
Piptadeniastrum africanum is a tall deciduous tree within the legume family, Fabaceae. It is native to the humid tropics of sub-Saharan Africa, ranging from Senegal to Sudan and Angola. It is the sole species in genus Piptadeniastrum. It is also called Piptadenia africana, and its timber is traded under the names Dabema or Dahoma. It commonly occurs in freshwater swamp forests but can also be found further north.
Gambeya africana is a medium sized tree within the Sapotaceae family. It is sometimes known as the African Star Apple along with the closely related Gambeya albida. Both species have similar leaf indumentum and are widespread in the Lower and Upper Guinea forest mosaic.
Entandrophragma angolense, called the tiama, is a tree species with alternate, pinnately compound leaves that are clustered at the ends of branches. It is within the family Meliaceae and has a wide distribution area, occurring in moist semi-deciduous and evergreen forest regions of Tropical Africa from Sierra Leone to Uganda.
Baccharoides lasiopus is a thinly branched herb or semi shrub within the family Asteraceae.
Zanthoxylum chalybeum is an aromatic deciduous shrub or tree within the family Rutaceae. It is also known as the lemon scented knobwood.
Ixora brachypoda is a species of shrub or small tree in the family Rubiaceae. It has fragrant flowers and glabrous leaves and stems.
Ixora scheffleri is small to medium-sized tree species within the family Rubiaceae. It is among four Ixora species occurring in Africa than has a predominant tree habit. It has two infraspecifics, one of which is endangered, the Ixora scheffleri subsp. keniensis.