Terminalia sericea

Terminalia sericea Burch. ex DC.

Common names

Silver cluster leaf (English); kalunguti, kalume-kakabesya, mulila-nkonko, namwinsyi (Bemba); nakabesya, mugonono, ngonono (Kunda); gonondo, kalume-kakabesya, mhalisi, mpini, mpulula, nalinsi, napini (Nyanja); ngonono (Tumbuka).

General description and distinguishing characteristics

Terminalia sericea is most easily recognised by its silvery leaves and deeply fissured bark. It usually grows on sandy soils and is a small to medium-sized tree or shrub up to 12 m in height with a rounded or flat crown. Bark grey-brown or pale brown, deeply longitudinally fissured. Young branchlets with purplish-black bark peeling to reveal a light brown underbark. Leaves simple, arranged in spirals or clusters, 5.5 x 1.5 cm but up to 12.5 x 4.5 cm. Leaves narrowly elliptic to narrowly obovate-elliptic, covered in dense silver hairs. Petiole 2-10 mm long. Flowers greenish white produced in lateral spikes 5-7.5 cm long (September-November). Fruit a flattened, two-winged capsule, 3-4 x 1.7-2.5 cm, pinkish or purple brown, drying straw-coloured (December-August).

Distribution and habitat

Terminalia sericea occurs from Angola, DR Congo and Tanzania southwards. In the Luangwa valley it is found on sandy soils in valley riverine fringe woodland; Combretum-Terminalia open woodland; Combretum-Terminalia-Diospyros wooded grassland; and hill miombo woodland.