Colophospermum mopane

Colophospermum mopane (Kirk ex Benth.) J.Leonard

Common names

Mopane (English); mupane (Bemba, Kunda, Nyanja, Tumbuka).

General description and distinguishing characteristics

A deciduous tree up to 20m tall, the mopane is probably the most characteristic tree of the valley floor, and certainly the commonest. It is most easily recognised by its assymetric, pointed, butterfly-shaped leaves. Bark grey-brown to dark grey, deeply longitudinally fissured with red underbark and resin that smells of turpentine. Leaves compound, in pairs, each leaflet 4.5-10 x 1.5-5 cm, shiny, mid- to dark green with 7-12 nerves running from the base of the leaflet; leaflet assymetric, semi-cordate to ovate with an acute apex. Petiole 2-4 cm long. Flowers greenish white, in slender racemes, individual flowers 3-4 mm in diameter; pedicels 4-8 mm long (December-March). Fruit a pale brown, kidney-shaped pod, typically 3.5 x 2 cm, with a narrow wing. Each pod contains a single, wrinkled seed dotted with red-brown resin. Pods smell of nutmeg, and mature from May-October.

Range and habitat

Colophospermum mopane occurs in river valleys and low lying areas throughout the Zambezian region, extending into southern Tanzania. In the Luangwa Valley it is characteristic of mopane woodland and mopane scrub woodland, and is found in patches in other vegetation types, often on sodic or poorly drained soils, and former termite mounds.