''Dalbergia armata'' (Hluhluwe creeper) is a scrambling, deciduous species of

legume A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock f ...

that is native to subtropical to temperate regions of southeastern Africa. The robust, woody

liana A liana is a long- stemmed, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the canopy in search of direct sunlight. The word ''liana'' does not refer to a ta ...

or small tree is armed with strong spines on the main stem and branches. It occurs sparsely or commonly in forest, bush, riparian fringes and in wooded ravines. It is sometimes employed as a bonsai subject, and it can be propagated from either seed or cuttings.

Range

It occurs widely in coastal, montane or riparian forests of southern

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

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 eastern

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 ...

. In South Africa it is present in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...

and

Limpopo Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature is ...

provinces. The

Hluhluwe River The Hluhluwe River originates in the Hluhluwe Game Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It rises in the Nongoma district and runs northeast through Hlabisa and the Hluhluwe Dam, beyond which it converges with the Nyalazi River to become the ...

is named after this species, due to its prevalence on the banks of the river. The species is virtually confined to

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

’s

Tongaland Maputaland is a natural region of Southern Africa. It is located in the northern part of the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa between Eswatini and the coast. In a wider sense it may also include the southernmost region of Mozambique. The bi ...

Pondoland Pondoland or Mpondoland (Xhosa: ''EmaMpondweni''), is a natural region on the South African shores of the Indian Ocean. It is located in the coastal belt of the Eastern Cape province. Its territory is the former Mpondo Kingdom of the Mpondo peopl ...

centre of endemism.

Description

Their thick (up to 15 cm) and 10 to 30 m long ropes have sturdy, sideways-directed spines which may grow in clusters, and encircle the stems. The spines which are up to 10 cm long, hook onto adjacent vegetation to direct the plant towards the canopy. The bark is dark greyish brown. The alternate leaves are up to 8 cm long, finely compound and are bluish green on their upper surfaces. The 21 to 41 oblong leaflets (i.e. 10 to 20 pairs plus terminal) have a sub-opposite or alternate arrangement. The leaflets close in overcast weather, and the foliage is popular with browsing animals. Their very small, sweetly scented flowers are creamy-white in colour. They appear in early summer, and are born in dense terminal or axillary clusters. The small and thin seed pods measure about 5 by 2 cm. They are papery in texture and lemon-yellow to pale brown in colour. The

indehiscent Dehiscence is the splitting of a mature plant structure along a built-in line of weakness to release its contents. This is common among fruits, anthers and sporangia. Sometimes this involves the complete detachment of a part; structures that op ...

fruit which hold 1 to 3 seeds each, are often produced in profusion. They appear in clusters on horizontal branch tips, from late summer.

Similar species

The Zebra-wood is also armed and has an overlapping range, but its leaflets are fewer (7 to 13) and larger, while its flowers vary from white to pink. Other ''Dalbergia'' species of the region have hairy pods, or velvety undersides to the leaflets. The Thorny elm has

simple leaves A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15531523 armata Flora of Africa Creepers of South Africa Flora of Mozambique Flora of Swaziland Plants described in 1836