''Nymania capensis'' is a species of plant known in English as "Chinese lantern" because of the shape of its bright, colourful fruit, and in Afrikaans as "klapper" (meaning "firecracker" because children sometimes pop the capsules for fun). It is the only species in the genus ''Nymania''. It is a spare, scrubby, woody shrub or small tree, typically ) 0.5–3 m tall. It is endemic to South Africa and some closely bordering territories, especially inland regions in central, northern and eastern parts. It grows mainly in Karooid regions, among the scrub of gorges, but also in open veld and river banks in the Great and Little

Karoo The Karoo ( ; from the Afrikaans borrowing of the South Khoekhoe !Orakobab or Khoemana word ''ǃ’Aukarob'' "Hardveld") is a semi-desert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its ext ...

, Namaqualand and Kalahari.Marloth, Rudolf. The Flora of South Africa” 1932 Pub. Cape Town: Darter Bros. London: Wheldon & Wesley. The leaves are alternate and fascicled. They are simple and more or less linear. The flowers are solitary, born on pedicels in axils. The corolla and calyx have four lobes each, with eight stamens inserted at the base of the disc, the filaments being connate at their base. The ovary is superior and sessile; it has four lobes and four

locule A locule (plural locules) or loculus (plural loculi) (meaning "little place" in Latin) is a small cavity or compartment within an organ or part of an organism (animal, plant, or fungus). In angiosperms (flowering plants), the term ''locule'' usu ...

s, each containing two collateral ascending ovules. The stigma is simple and the style extends further than the stamens. The fruit is an inflated membranous capsule, 3–5 cm across, each locule forming a distinct lobe. The ripe seeds are hard and rounded, some 2–4 mm in diameter. A locule may contain less than two seeds, due to abortion.Dyer, R. Allen, The Genera of Southern African Flowering Plants”. , 1975 The capsules are too heavy to be windborne, but when ripe they sometimes are blown over the veld, bearing their seeds in the manner of miniature

tumbleweed A tumbleweed is a structural part of the above-ground anatomy of a number of species of plants. It is a diaspore that, once mature and dry, detaches from its root or stem and rolls due to the force of the wind. In most such species, the tumble ...

Carl Peter Thunberg Carl Peter Thunberg, also known as Karl Peter von Thunberg, Carl Pehr Thunberg, or Carl Per Thunberg (11 November 1743 – 8 August 1828), was a Swedish naturalist and an "apostle" of Carl Linnaeus. After studying under Linnaeus at Uppsala Un ...

originally described the species as ''Aitonia capensis'' in honour of

William Aiton William Aiton (17312 February 1793) was a Scotland, Scottish botanist. Aiton was born near Hamilton, Scotland, Hamilton. Having been regularly trained to the profession of a gardener, he travelled to London in 1754, and became assistant to Phi ...

, but Sextus Otto Lindberg later renamed it to ''Nymania'' in honour of

Carl Fredrik Nyman Carl Fredrik Nyman (31 August 1820 – 26 April 1893) was a Swedish botanist born in Stockholm. His middle name is alternatively spelled Frederik or Frederick. Nyman was a curator at the Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm (1855–188 ...

. ''Nymania capensis'' is the only species in the genus ''Nymania'' Lindb. Another species, "''Nymania insignis'' K.Schum." (in the junior homonym genus ''Nymania'' K.Schum.; Euphorbiaceae) is a synonym of '' Phyllanthus clamboides''. The genus has variously been assigned to the families Sapindaceae, Aitoniaceae, and Meliaceae. The correct assignment also is under review. Some characteristics, such as the pollen type, still are giving taxonomists pause. Though the plant currently is valued as an ornamental, it is not easy for the amateur to germinate and it does not seem to have been of much material importance in other respects; it has been reported to have been used in folk medicine for the treatment of convulsions.Watt, John Mitchell; Breyer-Brandwijk, Maria Gerdina: The Medicinal and Poisonous Plants of Southern and Eastern Africa 2nd ed Pub. E & S Livingstone 1962 Goats will browse it, but it is seldom plentiful enough to be important as a major source of forage.

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* {{Taxonbar, from1=Q3180598, from2=Q17507122 Meliaceae Meliaceae genera Monotypic Sapindales genera Flora of South Africa