Home | > | List of families | > | Burseraceae | > | Commiphora | > | pyracanthoides |
Synonyms: |
Commiphora pyracanthoides Engl. subsp. pyracanthoides |
Common names: | Firethorn corkwood (English) Mubwabwa (Shona) Mukwendekwende (Shona) Munyera (Shona) |
Frequency: | |
Status: | Native |
Description: |
Usually a low spreading much-branched shrub, up to 3 m tall, often forming thickets, rarely a small tree. Bark grey to yellowish-green, flaking in small papery, cream-coloured pieces; short lateral branchlets spine-tipped. Leaves clustered, subsessile, 1-foliolate, sometimes 3-foliolate with much reduced lateral leaflets; lamina obovate, up to 5.5 × 3.2 cm, hairless but sometimes with scattered glands near the base of the midrib; margin toothed. Flowers small, bell-shaped, reddish, in subsessile clusters on the spine-tipped branchlets, appearing before the leaves. Fruit broadly ellipsoid, pointed, c. 1 cm long, hairless. Seeds black with a 3-4-armed red pseudaril. Note: This species is generally similar to C. glandulosa differing mainly in the general shrub-like habit and the hairless calyx. Some 3-foliolate leaves, mostly with very reduced lateral leaflets, are usually present, while in C. glandulosa these are very rare. |
Notes: | |
Derivation of specific name: | pyracanthoides: resembling a Pyracantha sp. (Rosaceae) |
Habitat: | Occurring in dry deciduous open woodland. |
Altitude range: (metres) | |
Flowering time: | Oct - Nov |
Worldwide distribution: | Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Eswatini, Limpopo, North-West and Mpumalanga, South Africa. |
Zimbabwe distribution: | N,W,S |
Growth form(s): | Shrub over 2 m, shrub under 2 m. |
Endemic status: | |
Red data list status: | |
Insects associated with this species: | |
Spot characters: | Display spot characters for this species |
Images last updated: | Thursday 21 January 2010 |
Literature: |
Burrows, J.E., Burrows, S.M., Lötter, M.C. & Schmidt, E. (2018). Trees and Shrubs Mozambique Publishing Print Matters (Pty), Cape Town. Page 375. (Includes a picture). Drummond, R.B. (1975). A list of trees, shrubs and woody climbers indigenous or naturalised in Rhodesia. Kirkia 10(1) Page 249. Golding, J.S. (ed.) (2002). Namibia Plant Red Data List. Southern African Plant Red Data Lists. SABONET 14 Page 77. Mapaura, A. & Timberlake, J. (eds) (2004). A checklist of Zimbabwean vascular plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 33 Sabonet, Pretoria and Harare Page 31. Setshogo, M.P. (2005). Preliminary checklist of the plants of Botswana. Sabonet Report no. 37. Sabonet, Pretoria and Gaborone Page 42. Wild, H. (1963). Burseraceae Flora Zambesiaca 2(1) Page 268. |
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