Dalbergia melanoxylon

Dalbergia melanoxylon Guill. & Perr.

Common names

Zebrawood, ebony Dalbergia (English); kansalunsalu (Bisa, Kunda); mufwa-nkomo (Kunda, Nyanja); kasalusalu, mfwankomo, mkelete, mkumudwe, msalu, pulu-pulu, mpimbwi, nanyula (Nyanja); mufwa-nanyula, mufwa-nkomo (Tumbuka).

General description and distinguishing characteristics

A much branched, spiny shrub or small tree, up to 10 m in height but usually much less. In scrub mopane in the Valley, it is often found as a sub-shrub less than 1 m tall. Bark pale, silvery grey and smooth, becoming dark and fissured in larger trees; brnchlets are spiny. Leaves compound, imparipinnate, clustered on short side branches with 8-13 leaflets; leaflets oblong, obovate or elliptic, typically 1.5 x 1 cm, glossy dark green above, paler below with a rounded apex. Stipules falling early. Flowers small, pea-shaped, whitish cream coloured, 0.4-0.6 cm long; produced in lax sprays up to 10 cm long with or just before the new leaves. Sweetly scented (October-November). Fruit an oblong, indehiscent pod, 3-6 cm long and 1.2-1.5 cm wide. Fruits ripen January to March.

Range and habitat

Dalbergia melanoxylon is found throughout our region in medium to low altitude woodland. In the Luangwa Valley it is associated with Combretum-Terminalia-Diospyros wooded grassland and mopane woodland and scrub mopane. It is fairly common but inconspicuous.