''Maerua cafra'' (

DC. Augustin Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (, , ; 4 February 17789 September 1841) was a Swiss botanist. René Louiche Desfontaines launched de Candolle's botanical career by recommending him at a herbarium. Within a couple of years de Candolle ...

)

Pax Pax or PAX may refer to: Peace * Peace (Latin: ''pax'') ** Pax (goddess), the Roman goddess of peace ** Pax, a truce term * Pax (liturgy), a salutation in Catholic and Lutheran religious services * Pax (liturgical object), an object formerly kiss ...

is a small

Southern African Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...

tree belonging to Capparaceae, the caper family, occurring eastwards along the coast from

Knysna Knysna () is a town with 76,150 inhabitants (2019 mid-year estimates) in the Western Cape province of South Africa. and is one of the destinations on the loosely defined Garden Route tourist route. It lies at 34° 2' 6.3168'' S and 23° 2' 47. ...

, then further inland and northwards through

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 ...

and

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 ...

to the

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

, southern

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 ...

and southern

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

. The genus ''

Maerua ''Maerua'' is a genus of plants in the family Capparaceae, with its centre of diversity in Africa, though some species extend their range as far north as the Levant, and as far east as the Indian subcontinent and mainland Southeast Asia. Among i ...

'' comprises about 60 species found in Africa and Asia. It may reach about in height and occurs in dune bush, open woodland or on forest fringes. The leaves are digitately compound with from 3 to 5 leaflets, with entire, ciliate margins and petiolules of only or less in length, while the petiole may be up to long. The apex of the median leaflet may be apiculate and vary from broadly acute to rounded. The scented flowers are in terminal clusters with numerous white stamens tinged with green, though petals are absent. The four sepals are greenish in colour and about long, while the stamens are intricately folded in the unopened bud. A single gynophore protrudes from amongst the stamens in the open flower. The fruit is plum-like (oblong-ovoid), up to long, slightly ribbed with longitudinal suture lines clearly visible, and pendent from the long gynophore and peduncle. When ripe it remains green in colour, becoming wrinkled, soft and fragrant, and consumed by many species of bird. The fruit has a thick rind and holds up to 30 flattened,

reniform seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosperm ...

s, distributed irregularly in a jelly-like pulp. The grey to dark brown bark, in common with many of this family, is liberally covered in

lenticel A lenticel is a porous tissue consisting of cells with large intercellular spaces in the periderm of the secondarily thickened organs and the bark of woody stems and roots of dicotyledonous flowering plants. It functions as a pore, providing a ...

s. Branches and trunks are often markedly flattened rather than round. The wood is brittle and said to have a disagreeable odour when cut. In the past the roots have been ground up for use as a chicory substitute in coffee, and a decoction of roots for curbing

menorrhagia Heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB), previously known as menorrhagia or hypermenorrhea, is a menstrual period with excessively heavy flow. It is a type of abnormal uterine bleeding Abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB), also known as (AVB) or as atypical ...

and against female infertility. This species is one of the numerous Capparaceae host to the larvae of ''

Belenois aurota ''Belenois aurota'', the pioneer or pioneer white or caper white, is a small to medium-sized butterfly of the family Pieridae, that is, the yellows and whites, which is found in South Asia and Africa. In Africa, it is also known as the brown-vein ...

'', the Brown-veined White butterfly which migrates northwards across Southern Africa in large numbers at certain times of the year. ''

Pinacopteryx eriphia ''Pinacopteryx'' is a monotypic genus of pierid butterflies found in Africa containing ''Pinacopteryx eriphia'', the zebra white.Colotis antevippe ''Colotis antevippe'', the red tip, is a butterfly of the family Pieridae. It is found in the Afrotropical realm. The wingspan is 40–45 mm. The adults fly year-round. The larvae feed on ''Boscia albitrunca'', ''Boscia oleoides'', ''Cappa ...

''all these butterfly species belong to the family

Pieridae The Pieridae are a large family of butterflies with about 76 genera containing about 1,100 species, mostly from tropical Africa and tropical Asia with some varieties in the more northern regions of North America and Eurasia.DeVries P. J. in Levi ...

Synonyms

*''Maerua triphylla'' (Thunb.) T.Durand & Schinz *''Niebuhria triphylla'' (Thunb.) H.L.Wendl. *''Capparis triphylla'' Thunb. *''Crateva avicularis'' Burch. *''Niebuhria avicularis'' DC. *''Niebuhria oleoides'' DC.

Gallery

Maerua cafra11.jpg, Maerua cafra12.jpg, Maerua cafra13.jpg, Maerua cafra14.jpg,

References

External links

Images at iSpotDistribution map
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15545188

cafra The Caribbean Association for Feminist Research and Action (CAFRA) is a nongovernmental organization that advocates for women's rights and empowerment in the Caribbean. The regional network, which serves as an umbrella organization for progressive ...