''Pterocarpus angolensis'' (African teak, wild teak, pt, Girassonde, af, Kiaat, st, Morôtô, tn, Mokwa, ve, Mutondo, sn, Mukwa, sn, Mubvamaropa, zu, Umvangazi) is a species of ''

Pterocarpus ''Pterocarpus'' is a pantropical genus of trees in the family Fabaceae. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae, and was recently assigned to the informal monophyletic ''Pterocarpus'' clade within the Dalbergieae. Most species of ''Pterocarp ...

'' native to southern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, in

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordinat ...

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

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 ...

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 coun ...

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 ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country 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 ...

, and

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

.International Legume Database & Information Service
''Pterocarpus angolensis''
/ref> It is a protected tree in South Africa. The name Kiaat, although Afrikaans, is sometimes used outside

as well. In Zimbabwe, depending on what region you are in, it is known as Mukwa or Mubvamaropa.

Description

It is a

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

usually growing to 16 m tall, with dark brown

bark Bark may refer to: * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Places * Bark, Germany * Bark, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland Arts, e ...

and a high, wide-crowned canopy of shiny compound leaves. In favoured wetter locations the trees are typically about 18–19 m tall. The leaves appear at the time of the flowers or shortly afterwards. They are alternate, deep green,

imparipinnate Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, an ...

, with 11-19 subopposite to alternate leaflets, the leaflets 2.5–7 cm long and 2–4.5 cm broad. It produces an abundance of scented, orange-yellow flowers in

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

s 10–20 cm long; flowering is in the spring. In southern Africa, this is usually just at the end of the dry season, often about mid-October. The pod is 2–3 cm diameter, surrounded by a circular wing 8–12 cm diameter, reminiscent of a brown

fried egg A fried egg, also known as sunny-side up is a cooked dish made from one or more eggs which are removed from their shells and placed into a frying pan and fried. They are traditionally eaten for breakfast in many countries but may also be ser ...

, and containing a single

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosper ...

. This brown papery and spiky seed pod stays on long after the leaves have fallen. In poorly drained locations, the tree can still grow but it becomes more open in shape with leaves on the end of long branches - a 'stag-headed' appearance.Coates Palgrave, K. (1983). ''Trees of Southern Africa''. Struik Publishers.Danida Seed Leaflet
''Pterocarpus angolensis'' (pdf file)
/ref> It is referred to as a blood wood tree: when it is cut, it appears to bleed because of dark red sap.

Ecology

''Pterocarpus angolensis'' grows in southern and eastern Africa over a wide range of localities where there is a dry season contrasting with a wet season. It grows best where it is warm and free of frost. The

soil type A soil type is a taxonomic unit in soil science. All soils that share a certain set of well-defined properties form a distinctive soil type. Soil type is a technical term of soil classification, the science that deals with the systematic categori ...

must be deep sandy soil or well drained rocky slopes where the rainfall is above 500 mm per year. It grows well in areas of open woodland such as the Mashonaland plateau in Zimbabwe and northern Kwazulu-Natal region of South Africa, where it assumes a broad crown with heavy branches, and is a pioneer species on woodland and forest margins. The best specimens grow in the seasonal closed woodland of central Mozambique and parts of Malawi, where they sometimes form pure stands. ''Pterocarpus angolensis'' is fed upon by many animals that include the

charaxes The rajah and pasha butterflies, also known as emperors in Africa and Australia, (genus ''Charaxes'') make up the huge type genus of the brush-footed butterfly subfamily Charaxinae, or leafwing butterflies. They belong to the tribe Charaxini, ...

butterfly in larval state,

squirrel Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. ...

baboon Baboons are primates comprising the genus ''Papio'', one of the 23 genera of Old World monkeys. There are six species of baboon: the hamadryas baboon, the Guinea baboon, the olive baboon, the yellow baboon, the Kinda baboon and the chacma ...

s and

monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...

s that feed on the seed pods, which have a diameter of about 12 cm. The

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantida ...

has been known to destroy ''P. angolensis'' by pushing it over.

Uses

There are several uses for the wood of ''P. angolensis''. The brown

heartwood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

is resistant to

borer Borer may refer to: Insects * Stem borer * Twig borer * Shoot borer Moths * ''Chilo'' (moth) *'' Diatraea grandiosella'', southwestern corn borer *'' Podosesia syringae'', ash borer or lilac borer *'' Melittia cucurbitae'', squash vine borer ...

and

termite Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes ( eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blat ...

, is durable and has a pleasing spicy fragrance. The wood polishes well and is well known in tropical Africa as Mukwa when used to make good quality furniture that has an attractive light brownish-yellow colour. It can also be used for curios, and implements. Since the wood does not swell or shrink much it is great for canoe building. Furniture and curios are often made from the reddish sapwood. The colour of the sapwood is a result of the remarkable, dark red sap of the plant; an alternative name of Bloodwood rises from this. This wood also produces a rich, resonant sound and can be made into many different musical instruments. In Zimbabwe, the

mbira Mbira ( ) are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board (often fitted with a resonator) with attached staggered metal tines, played by holding the instrument in the hands and p ...

is traditionally made from mukwa. It is valued for several medicinal uses. It has been recorded to treat

ringworm Dermatophytosis, also known as ringworm, is a fungal infection of the skin. Typically it results in a red, itchy, scaly, circular rash. Hair loss may occur in the area affected. Symptoms begin four to fourteen days after exposure. Multiple ar ...

, eye problems,

blackwater fever Blackwater fever is a complication of malaria infection in which red blood cells burst in the bloodstream (hemolysis), releasing hemoglobin directly into the blood vessels and into the urine, frequently leading to kidney failure. The disease w ...

, stabbing pains, malaria, and to increase the supply of

breast milk Breast milk (sometimes spelled as breastmilk) or mother's milk is milk produced by mammary glands located in the breast of a human female. Breast milk is the primary source of nutrition for newborns, containing fat, protein, carbohydrates ( la ...

. The resemblance of the sap to blood has led to the belief in supposed magical healing powers concerning the blood. Because of all these reasons and that it is also fire resistant, ''P. angolensis'' is sometimes planted around the chief's enclosure to make a living fence.

References

* *van Wyk, B. and van Wyk, P. 1997. ''Field Guide to trees of South Africa''. Struik, Cape Town

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q2716882

angolensis This list of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names is intended to help those unfamiliar with classical languages to understand and remember the scientific names of organisms. The binomial nomenclature used for animals and plants ...

Trees of South Africa Protected trees of South Africa Trees of Angola Flora of Mozambique Flora of Namibia Flora of Zimbabwe Flora of Zambia