''Rhigozum trichotomum'' is a shrub that is native to

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

and

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 ...

. It is found mainly in the

Nama Karoo Nama Karoo is a xeric shrubland ecoregion located on the central plateau of South Africa and Namibia. It occupies most of the interior of the western half of South Africa and extends into the southern interior of Namibia. Climate The climate te ...

and is listed on the

SANBI The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) is an organisation established in 2004 in terms of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, No 10 of 2004, under the South African Department of Environmental Affairs (l ...

red list as 'safe' (LC). It is a woody

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

that grows 1–2 m tall with thorny twigs that often branch in threes. It bears small leaves that it loses in the dry season, and produces small white flowers with yellow centers. Overgrazed areas can become covered with this plant. This indicates poor land management, and can maks the soil prone to erosion. The plant is not palatable, but acts as a nurse plant for other young plants. It occurs in areas with rainfall of 50–350 mm per year.

References

Bignoniaceae {{Improve categories, date=January 2022