''Chionanthus foveolatus'', commonly known as the pock ironwood or bastard ironwood, is a medium-sized,

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

Afromontane The Afromontane regions are subregions of the Afrotropical realm, one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms, covering the plant and animal species found in the mountains of Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula. The Afromontane regions ...

tree that is native to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Eswatini Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

and

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

. ''Chionanthus foveolatus'' occurs at medium to high altitudes in habitats ranging from bushy or rocky hillsides and mountainous forests to coastal scrub. It has scaly grey bark and bears clusters of sweetly scented, cream-white

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s from September to December. It is related to the familiar edible

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

, and likewise produces fleshy, ovoid,

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

s which become black when ripe. It can be grown easily from seed. It can reach a height of about 10 metres in deep forest though it is usually considerably smaller than this, and it has a spread of about 5 metres. It grows well in full sun or semi-shade.

Description

*Family: Oleaceae *Habit: Small tree with slender trunk, bushy crown and whippy branchlets. *Height: Ranges from 5 to 8 metres. *Bark: Light to dark-grey, with scattered corky spots when young *Leaves: Opposite, simple, elliptic, glossy dark-green, with small bump or pits in the axils of the veins. *Flower: White to cream, occasionally pink-tinged, sweetly scented,

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

, in small sprays in the leaf axils. Sept. - Dec. *Wood: Pale brown, strong and heavy. *Fruit: Ovoid, fleshy berry, purplish-black when mature. Nov. – July.

References

External links

Images at iSpot

Fernkloof Nature Reserve

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5101413 Afromontane flora Trees of South Africa Flora of Swaziland Flora of Malawi foveolatus