''Combretum apiculatum'' is a species of

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, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

in the family

Combretaceae The Combretaceae, often called the white mangrove family, are a family of flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, G ...

known by the common name red bushwillow. It is native to the mesic to semi-arid savanna regions of Africa, southwards of the equator.

Description

This is a semi-deciduous tree growing up to 10 meters tall, or sometimes a

shrub A shrub or 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 by their multiple ...

remaining shorter. It has rough gray-black bark with fissures, and the smaller branches may be woolly in texture. The oppositely arranged leaves are up to 11 to 13''Combretum apiculatum''.
''Flora Zambesiaca'' Volume 4 Part 0 (1978). Combretaceae by A. W. Exell. Kew Royal Botanic Gardens. centimeters long. They are hairless or hairy. The tip of the leaf tapers abruptly to a twisted point. The foliage turns reddish or golden in the fall.Masupa, T. and E. Rampho

PlantZAfrica.com, Pretoria National Herbarium, January, 2011. The spike

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

s emerge between the leaves and are up to 7 centimeters long. They bear yellow or green flowers with tiny

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s and petals, and with

style Style, or styles may refer to: Film and television * ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal * ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film * ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film * '' ...

and

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s about half a centimeter long. The flowers have a strong scent. The reddish, winged fruit is 2 or 3 centimeters long.

Subspecies

There are two subspecies, the southern ssp. ''apiculatum'', and ssp. ''leutweinii'', which occurs from Namibia to Malawi and northwards, which is differentiated by its more hirsute leaves.

Range and habitat

It occurs in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Eswatini Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where i ...

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

,Schmidt, E., et al. ''Trees and Shrubs of Mpumalanga and Kruger National Park''. Jacana Media. 2002. pg. 456. southern

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

, southeastern

DRC The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

and southern

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. This tree occurs in various

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

s in southern Africa. It is the dominant tree on the

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

in many areas,Walker, B. H. A review of browse and its role in livestock production in southern Africa. In: Le Houérou, H. N., Ed. ''Browse in Africa: The Current State of Knowledge.'' International Symposium on Browse in Africa. Addis Ababa. April 8–12, 1980.Bengtsson-Sjörs, K. (2006)
Establishment and survival of woody seedlings in a semi-arid savanna in southern Botswana.
Committee of Tropical Ecology, Uppsala University, Sweden. including regions characterized as

lowveld Veld ( or , Afrikaans and Dutch: ''veld'', field), 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, ...

and mopane savanna. It grows alongside other woody vegetation such as common hook thorn (''Acacia afra''), sicklebush (''Dichrostachys cinerea''), large sourplum (''Ximenia afra''), livelong (''Lannea discolor''), white seringa (''Kirkia acuminata''), and marula (''Sclerocarya afra'').

Utilization by game and livestock

Many animals use the tree, especially for food.

Kudu The kudus are two species of antelope of the genus '' Tragelaphus'': * Lesser kudu, ''Tragelaphus imberbis'', of eastern Africa * Greater kudu, ''Tragelaphus strepsiceros'', of eastern and southern Africa The two species look similar, th ...

, bushbuck, elands,

giraffe The giraffe is a large Fauna of Africa, African even-toed ungulate, hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa.'' It is the Largest mammals#Even-toed Ungulates (Artiodactyla), tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on ...

s, and

elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

s browse the leaves. Eland are so attracted to the tree that they can do damage to it with their feeding. The brown-headed parrot eats the seeds. Cattle also eat the leaves. The fruits are hazardous to livestock, however, because they are toxic. The foliage can be fed to goats as a supplemental fodder.

Human use

This tree has dense (1.15), fine-grained, strong, dark brown to black heartwood, sometimes used as

firewood Firewood is any wooden material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not heavily processed, and is in some sort of firelog, recognizable log or branch form, compared to other forms of wood fuel like pellet fuel, pellets. ...

or for making

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, ca ...

. It is hard, and

termite Termites are a group of detritivore, detritophagous Eusociality, eusocial cockroaches which consume a variety of Detritus, decaying plant material, generally in the form of wood, Plant litter, leaf litter, and Humus, soil humus. They are dist ...

-resistant. The tree responds well to

coppicing Coppicing is the traditional method in woodland management of cutting down a tree to a tree stump, stump, which in many species encourages new Shoot (botany), shoots to grow from the stump or roots, thus ultimately regrowing the tree. A forest ...

, growing back with plentiful foliage. The bark has been used in

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning (leather), tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffal ...

tanning. Medicinal uses for the species include the treatment of

conjunctivitis Conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye or Madras eye, is inflammation of the conjunctiva, the thin, clear layer that covers the white surface of the eye and the inner eyelid. It makes the eye appear pink or reddish. Pain, burning, scratchiness ...

and stomach ailments. It contains a number of

antioxidant Antioxidants are Chemical compound, compounds that inhibit Redox, oxidation, a chemical reaction that can produce Radical (chemistry), free radicals. Autoxidation leads to degradation of organic compounds, including living matter. Antioxidants ...

compounds, such as cardamonin, pinocembrin,

quercetin Quercetin is a plant flavonol from the flavonoid group of polyphenols. It is found in many fruits, vegetables, leaves, seeds, and grains; capers, red onions, and kale are common foods containing appreciable amounts of it. It has a bitter flavor ...

, and

kaempferol Kaempferol (3,4′,5,7-tetrahydroxyflavone) is a natural flavonol, a type of flavonoid, found in a variety of plants and plant-derived foods including kale, beans, tea, spinach, and broccoli. It is also found in propolis extracts. Kaempferol i ...

. It is an appropriate garden tree, as it is tolerant of frost and drought and provides shade.

Vernacular names

Common names for the tree in other languages include ''rooiboswilg'' (

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

), ''umbondwe'' ( Zulu), ''imbondvo'' ( Swazi), ''mohwidiri'' (

Tswana Tswana may refer to: * Tswana people, the Bantu languages, Bantu speaking people in Botswana, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and other Southern Africa regions * Tswana language, the language spoken by the (Ba)Tswana people * Tswanaland, ...

), ''mohwelere'' ( Sepedi), ''muvuvha'' ( Tshivenḓa), ''ndhuva'' (

Tsonga Tsonga may refer to: * Tsonga language, a Bantu language spoken in southern Africa * Tsonga people, a large group of people living mainly in southern Mozambique and South Africa. * Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (; born 17 April 1985) ...

), ''rukweza'' ( Shona), and ''omumbuti'' ( Herero).

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q14504729 apiculatum Taxa named by Otto Wilhelm Sonder