''Boscia albitrunca'', commonly known as the shepherd tree or shepherd's tree ( af, Witgat, st, Mohlôpi, tn, Motlôpi, ve, Muvhombwe, xh, Umgqomogqomo, zu, Umvithi), is a protected tree in

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 ...

. The species epithet "albitrunca" refers to the oftentimes white trunk. Traditionally, the shepherd tree was used by Dutch settlers, "boers", to create a variant of coffee that is derived from the roots of the tree. It is an

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

tree native to southern and tropical Africa, living in the hot, dry, and often brackish low-lying areas, sometimes on abundant lime or occasionally found in rocky terrain. It is a common tree of the

Kalahari The Kalahari Desert is a large semi-arid sandy savanna in Southern Africa extending for , covering much of Botswana, and parts of Namibia and South Africa. It is not to be confused with the Angolan, Namibian, and South African Namib coasta ...

bushveld The Bushveld (from af, bosveld, af, bos 'bush' and af, veld) is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands, sub-tropical woodland ecoregion of Southern Africa. It encompasses most of Limpopo Province and a small part of ...

and

lowveld Veld ( or ), also spelled veldt, is a type of wide open rural landscape in :Southern Africa. Particularly, it is a flat area covered in grass or low scrub, especially in the countries of South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Botswa ...

. It is one of the most important forage trees in the Kalahari.

Description

This tree grows up to tall but is usually much smaller. It has a prominent, sturdy white trunk frequently with strips of rough, dark-coloured bark. The crown is often browsed by

antelope The term antelope is used to refer to many species of even-toed ruminant that are indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelope comprise a wastebasket taxon defined as any of numerous Old World grazing and browsing hoofed mammals ...

and all grazers that can reach the foliage, resulting in a conspicuous flattened underside or browse-line. The

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are narrow,

oblanceolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular ...

, and stiff with veins obscure except for the distinct

midrib This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s are small, greenish-yellow, star-shaped, and clustered. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

s, on a jointed stalk, are about in diameter and are brittle-skinned with a whitish flesh and large

endocarp Fruit anatomy is the plant anatomy of the internal structure of fruit. Fruits are the mature ovary or ovaries of one or more flowers. They are found in three main anatomical categories: aggregate fruits, multiple fruits, and simple fruits. Aggr ...

. A specimen found in the central

in 1974 had

root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the su ...

s extending to deep, making it the plant with the deepest known roots.

Relationships

''Boscia'' belongs to the caper family

Capparaceae The Capparaceae (or Capparidaceae), commonly known as the caper family, are a family of plants in the order Brassicales. As currently circumscribed, the family contains 33 genera and about 700 species. The largest genera are ''Capparis'' (about ...

. Pickled capers are made from the unopened buds of European members of this family. ''Boscia albitrunca'' is closely related to '' Boscia foetida'' subsp. ''rehmanniana'', which has much smaller leaves and velvet-textured fruits. The genus was named for Louis Bosc (1759–1828), a French professor of agriculture who lived through the revolution.

Gallery

Boscia albitrunca10.jpg, Specimen with a clear browse line,

Limpopo Limpopo is the northernmost 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 the provincial legislature is ...

Boscia albitrunca, habitus, naby Marnitz, a.jpg, Specimen with its canopy infested with red-berry mistletoe, Limpopo Boscia albitrunca00.jpg, Flowering during late winter, Limpopo Boscia albitrunca07.jpg, Green fruit during spring,

Cape Glossy Starling (Lamprotornis nitens) eating a fruit of a Shepherd's Tree (Boscia albitrunca) (45181194105).jpg, Ripe fruit consumed by a cape starling, early summer, Kgalagadi

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q3643502 albitrunca Flora of Mozambique Flora of Zambia Protected trees of South Africa