''Catophractes alexandri'', the only species in the genus ''Catophractes'', is a spiny shrub or small tree up to 3m tall, belonging to the family Bignoniaceae and occurring in the hot, low-rainfall regions of

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, the

Northern Cape The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of the Kgalagadi T ...

, Kalahari Desert,

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, western

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and

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. Preferring calcrete, limestone outcrops and soils, the species often forms pure communities, or grows in association with ''

Colophospermum mopane ''Colophospermum mopane'', commonly called mopane, mopani, balsam tree, butterfly tree, or turpentine tree, is a tree in the legume family ( Fabaceae), that grows in hot, dry, low-lying areas, in elevation, in the far northern parts of southern ...

'', '' Rhigozum virgatum'', '' Phaeoptilum spinosum'' and '' Acacia nebrownii''. It is parasitised by several ''

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'' spp. The specific name honours James Edward Alexander, the Victorian soldier and explorer, while the generic name refers to leaves and flowers arising from below the paired,

decussate Decussation is used in biological contexts to describe a crossing (due to the shape of the Roman numeral for ten, an uppercase 'X' (), ). In Latin anatomical terms, the form is used, e.g. . Similarly, the anatomical term chiasma is named aft ...

, opposite spines. Leaves are tufted (fascicled) or opposite, and densely tomentose and grey. They are simple and elliptic to obovate, up to 4 cm long, and with coarsely dentate or scalloped margins. The white or pink flowers, produced after rain, are about 10 cm in length, fragrant, showy or specious, 5-lobed, and with a yellow throat. Inside the tube there is a broad, villous band below the origin of the filaments. The calyx is tubular with linear teeth, and slit on one side. The fruit is a flattened, woody capsule, some 10 cm long, warty and splitting or dehiscing across the flat faces into two equal parts. Old fruits are pendant and produce a characteristic clicking sound in light breezes, caused by the castanet-like tapping of the two hollow parts. Seeds are papery and winged. Descriptions of this species appeared in "Ann. Nat. Hist." ii. (1839) 375;—"Proc. Linn. Soc." i. (1839) 4; "Trans. Linn. Soc." xviii. (1841) 307, t. 22; "DC. Prodr." ix. 233; Kuntze in "Jahrb. Bot. Gart. Berl." iv. (1886) 270; Engl. in "Engl. Jahrb." x. 255; K. Schum. in "Engl. & Prantl, Pflanzenf." iv. 3B, 233.

Medicinal use

The root is chewed for stomach complaints, and when added to the root of ''Polygala leptophylla''

Burch. __NOTOC__ William John Burchell (23 July 1781 – 23 March 1863) was an English explorer, naturalist, traveller, artist, and author. His thousands of plant specimens, as well as field journals from his South African expedition, are held by Ke ...

, is used as a decoction for abdominal pain, especially in children. Leaf, root and bark infusions and decoctions are used to treat colds and coughs.

Local names

*!khabab - Damara *Omukaravize - Otjiherero *Gabbabos -

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Synonyms

*''Catophractes welwitschi'' Seem., in Journ. Bot. 1865, 331, t. 39. *''Catophractes kolbeana'' Harv., Gen. S. Afr. Pl. ed. ii. 276.

References

External links

Southern African Plants galleryJSTORFlora of ZimbabweGalleryGallery

Gallery

Catophractes alexandri01b.jpg, Catophractes alexandri00.jpg, Catophractes alexandri03.jpg, Southern Zimbabwe {{Taxonbar, from1=Q2942979, from2=Q247104 Bignoniaceae Bignoniaceae genera Monotypic Lamiales genera