Plumtree is a town in

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

. Alongside marula trees, wild plum trees (Ntungulu in tjiKalanga) grow abundantly in area. The town was once called ''Getjenge'' by

baKalanga The Kalanga or Bakalanga are a southern Bantu ethnic group mainly inhabiting Matebeleland in Zimbabwe, northeastern Botswana and Limpopo Province in South Africa. They are historically related to the Nambya, Karanga, Bapedi and Venda. Curre ...

. Another name which is mainly used is ''Titji,'' meaning station and referring to the railway station which was operating in the area around 1897.

Location

The town is located in

Bulilimamangwe District Bulilimamangwe District is a district in Zimbabwe. Location The district is located in Matabeleland South Province, in southwestern Zimbabwe, close to the international border with Botswana. Its main town, Plumtree, is located about , by road, ...

, in the

Matabeleland South Province Matabeleland South is a province in southwestern Zimbabwe. With a population of 683,893 as of the 2012 Zimbabwean census, it is the country's least populous province. After Matabeleland North, it is Zimbabwe's second-least densely populated p ...

, in southwestern Zimbabwe, at the international border with

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

. It is located about , by road, southwest of

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council cl ...

, the nearest large city. Plumtree sits on the main road between Bulawayo in Zimbabwe and

Francistown Francistown is the second largest city in Botswana, with a population of about 103,417 and 147,122 inhabitants for its agglomeration at the 2022 census. and often described as the "''Capital of the North''" or as the natives would have it “''T ...

in Botswana, about , further southwest from Plumtree. The geographical coordinates of Plumtree are: 20°28'41.0"S, 27°47'50.0"E (Latitude:-20.478056; Longitude:27.797222). The border is defined by the

Ramokgwebana River The Ramokgwebana River (or Ramoqueban) is a river that defines part of the boundary between Botswana and Zimbabwe before entering the Shashe River from the left. History The Tati District, a grant made to Captain Levert by the Northern Ndebele p ...

. The village of

Ramokgwebana Ramokgwebana is a village in the North-East District (Botswana), North-East District of Botswana, close to the eastern border, which is defined by the Ramokgwebana River. Plumtree, Zimbabwe is on the other side of the border crossing. The village ...

is opposite Plumtree on the Botswana side. Plumtree lies at an average elevation of above

mean sea level There are several kinds of mean in mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. ...

Overview

It is the local administrative centre for Mangwe District, which is made up of two sub-districts; namely (a) Mangwe Urban (Plumtree) and (b) Mangwe Rural. What was Bulilima West, is now Bulilima District. (se
Map of the Districts of Matabeleland South Provinve
At an altitude of , above sea level, the town sits on the watershed between the

Limpopo River The Limpopo River rises in South Africa and flows generally eastward through Mozambique to the Indian Ocean. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a group of Tsonga settlers led by Hosi Rivombo who settled in the mountaino ...

basin to the south and the Zambezi River basin to the north. The

Tati River The Tati River is a river in northeast Botswana, a tributary of the Shashe River, which in turn is a tributary of the Limpopo River. The river flows through Francistown Francistown is the second largest city in Botswana, with a population of ...

rises near Plumtree, running west and then south into the

Shashe River The Shashe River (or Shashi River) is a major left-bank tributary of the Limpopo River in Zimbabwe. It rises northwest of Francistown, Botswana and flows into the Limpopo River where Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa meet. The railway from Bulawayo to Francistown crosses the border near Plumtree. There is a functioning

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

in Plumtree. There are several elementary and secondary schools in the town. Radio and television reception from within Zimbabwe is weak in this neighborhood. Residents in Plumtree and neighboring communities rely on reception from neighboring Botswana and South Africa for news and general information.

Population

There are two main languages spoken in Plumtree; (a) tjiKalanga and (b) isiNdebele. Other languages spoken to a lesser extent include

seTswana Tswana, also known by its native name , and previously spelled Sechuana in English, is a Bantu language spoken in Southern Africa by about 8.2 million people. It belongs to the Bantu language family within the Sotho-Tswana branch of Zon ...

, used near the

border. In 2004, the population of the town was estimated at 2,184. The 2012 national population census enumerated the population of Plumtree, Zimbabwe, at 11,660 inhabitants. Of these, 6,261 (53.7 percent) were females and 5,399 (46.3 percent) were males. They were grouped into 3,273 households with average size of 3.6 family members.

Climate

Notable people linked to Plumtree

* Alfred Taylor

References

External links

Plumtree Development Trust
As of December 2017. {{Geography of Zimbabwe Populated places in Matabeleland South Province Mangwe District Botswana–Zimbabwe border crossings