''Rothmannia globosa'' is a small but highly decorative South African tree of the family

Rubiaceae The Rubiaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the coffee, madder, or bedstraw family. It consists of terrestrial trees, shrubs, lianas, or herbs that are recognizable by simple, opposite leaves with interpetiolar stipules ...

. It occurs in evergreen forest and along forest margins 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 ...

and north to

Limpopo Province Limpopo is the northernmost Provinces of South Africa, 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 th ...

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 ...

. Bark is greyish-brown with rectangular markings. Leaves are glossy, often with yellowish to maroon veins on the underside with

acarodomatia Acarodomatia (singular ''Acarodomatium'') (Latin: ''Acari'' - mites, ''domus'' - dwelling), are tussocks of hairs or nonglandular trichomes located in pits situated in major leaf vein axes of many plant species, occupied and caused by predatory and ...

in the axils – acarodomatia are common in this family and are a useful diagnostic character. The specific name refers to the spherical fruits of about 25mm diameter.

References

* globosa Trees of South Africa Ornamental trees Taxa named by Ronald William John Keay {{tree-stub