Burkea africana

Burkea africana Hook.

Common names

Burkea (English); kapanga (Bemba, Kunda, Nyanja, Tumbuka)

General description and distinguishing characteristics

A tall, straight-boled tree to 18 m, Burkea africana is recognised by its black, cracked and scaly bark, and its light, spreading crown. Bark: Dark grey to black, deeply fissured, cracked and scaly; young branches covered in rusty hairs. When damaged, the bark exudes copious amounts of red or orange gum. Leaves: Compound bipinnate, crowded at the tips of the branches, with 5-12 leaflets on each pinna. The leaflets are oblique-elliptic, 2.5-3.5 x 5-6 cm, and are glaucous blue-green above and more yellow-green below. Flowers: Produced in long, spike-like panicles, the fragrant creamy white flowers appear with the new leaves from August to November. Fruit: A small, membraneous, elliptic pod (2.5-3 x 4.5-5 cm) containing just one seed. Ripening from April to October the year after flowering.

This tree may be confused with Erythrophleum africanum or Albizia antunesiana, both of which grow in similar habitats, but unlike these two species, Burkea has rusty red to maroon, velvety branch tips.

Range and habitat

Burkea africana occurs in miombo, chipya, Kalahari and other woodland habitats, and is almost invariably associated with sandy soils. It is often found in association with Erythrophleum africanum and Terminalia sericea, two other sand-loving species, and ius found throughout the region. In the valley, it is dominant in Combretum-Terminalia woodland on deep sandy soils.