''Combretum imberbe'' (also known as leadwood or mhoba-hoba, , , , ) is a characteristic and often impressive bushwillow species of the southern

Afrotropics The Afrotropical realm is one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Sub-Saharan Africa, the southern Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, and the islands of the western Indian Ocean. It was formerly known as the Ethiopi ...

. The medium to large tree has a sparse,

semi-deciduous Semi-deciduous or semi-evergreen is a botanical term which refers to plants that lose their foliage for a very short period, when old leaves fall off and new foliage growth is starting. This phenomenon occurs in tropical and sub-tropical wood ...

canopy of grey-green leaves. The twigs and leaves are hairless as the name ''imberbe'' suggests. Its

heartwood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

is dark brown, close-grained, and very hard and heavy, as suggested by its vernacular name. The durable hardwood is much sought after in the woodcarving industry. The

Herero Herero may refer to: * Herero people, a people belonging to the Bantu group, with about 240,000 members alive today * Herero language, a language of the Bantu family (Niger-Congo group) * Herero and Nama genocide * Herero chat, a species of bird ...

s and Ovambos of

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

attach special cultural and religious significance to the tree, as to them it is the great ancestor of all animals and people, which must be passed with respect.

Range

It is native to the mesic savannas of Africa south of the equator, from

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

province,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, in the south to

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

in the north. It is a native tree in

eSwatini Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where i ...

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

and

. It is a protected tree in

Description

The largest bushwillow species of southern Africa has a distinct habit and features. It has a spreading, rather sparse, roundish to slightly umbrella-shaped crown. The smallish, grey-green leaves and small, yellowish-green samaras are carried on spiny, attenuate branchlets. It typically grows to tall, but may reach . In maturity the single, solid bole may be up in diameter. The distinctive bark is pale to dark grey in colour, deeply fissured lengthwise. Irregular horizontal cracks infuse the bark a fairly regular, coarse-grained appearance.

Radiocarbon dating Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for Chronological dating, determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of carbon-14, radiocarbon, a radioactive Isotop ...

, done in South Africa, has established that a leadwood tree can live up to 1070 ± 40 years. A tree can remain standing for many years after it has died.

Uses

*The wood is dense and very hard, difficult to plane, but drills, sands and turns well. It is

termite Termites are a group of detritivore, detritophagous Eusociality, eusocial cockroaches which consume a variety of Detritus, decaying plant material, generally in the form of wood, Plant litter, leaf litter, and Humus, soil humus. They are dist ...

resistant. It was once used for railway sleepers and is now prized for ornamental work and furniture. *It burns very slowly with intense heat, and is often used for a fire which is intended to burn all night in order to keep wild animals at bay. It is sometimes used in a

barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (often shortened to BBQ worldwide; barbie or barby in Australia and New Zealand) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that employ live fire and smoke to coo ...

to provide a hot, long-lasting flame. *The ashes are used as

whitewash Whitewash, calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, asbestis or lime paint is a type of paint made from slaked lime ( calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) or chalk (calcium carbonate, CaCO3), sometimes known as "whiting". Various other additives are sometimes ...

for painting walls of

kraal Kraal (also spelled ''craal'' or ''kraul'') is an Afrikaans and Dutch language, Dutch word, also used in South African English, for an pen (enclosure), enclosure for cattle or other livestock, located within a Southern African Human settlement ...

huts. *The ashes can also be used as

toothpaste Toothpaste is a paste or gel dentifrice that is used with a toothbrush to clean and maintain the aesthetics of Human tooth, teeth. Toothpaste is used to promote oral hygiene: it is an abrasive that aids in removing dental plaque and food from th ...

when mixed into a paste with water. The ashes can also be added in a paste of tamarind, kneaded together to make a sweet smoothie. This is common among the Marembe people in Nyamapanda area.

Gallery

Combretum imberbe, loof, Steenbokpan.jpg, close-up of foliage Combretum imberbe06.jpg, flower buds and flowers Combretum imberbe seeds, by Omar Hoftun.jpg, winged fruit

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q932386 imberbe Flora of Mozambique Flora of Tanzania Trees of Africa Trees of Southern Africa Trees of South Africa Protected trees of South Africa Taxa named by Heinrich Wawra von Fernsee