''Mundulea sericea'', the cork bush, is an attractive shrub or small tree which is found in relatively open woodlands of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...

. It is the only member of the genus with a range extending beyond

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

, and it resembles some African shrubs in the related genus '' Tephrosia''.

Range

The species occurs commonly in

southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

Africa,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. At its southern limit it is found in northern

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 northwards of the Vaal River, South Africa.Algemene gids tot BOME. Keith, Paul & Meg Coates Palgrave. 2000. ISBN 1-86872-527-8 It has a preference for rocky slopes but is also found in savannah. The subspecies native to Madagascar is sometimes assigned to a separate species, ''

Mundulea striata ''Mundulea striata'' is a plant species in the genus ''Mundulea''. The pterocarpan Pterocarpans are derivatives of isoflavonoids found in the family Fabaceae. It is a group of compounds which can be described as benzo-pyrano-furano-benzenes ...

''.

Description

The compound, alternate leaves are covered in silky hairs. The papilionaceous flowers are

mauve Mauve (, ; , ) is a pale purple color named after the mallow flower (French: ''mauve''). The first use of the word ''mauve'' as a color was in 1796–98 according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', but its use seems to have been rare befo ...

to purple in colour. The seed pods are up to 8 cm long, and are covered in golden brown, velvety hairs. These hairs turn grey with time, and the pods may remain on the tree up to the next flowering season, or longer. The bark of the stem and main branches is deeply grooved and corky, and contains the poison rotenone. The leaves are however browsed by animals.

Gallery

Mundulea sericea subsp. sericea 1613.jpg, Mundulea sericea subsp. sericea 1DS-II 4-3296.jpg, Mundulea sericea subsp. sericea 2828.jpg,

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q13035237 Trees of Africa Millettieae