Commiphora africana

Commiphora africana (A.Rich.) Engl.

Common names

Poison grub corkwood (English); chitonto (Bemba); nsofwa (Kunda); chokolola, kamponi, khobo (Nyanja).

The English name refers to the fact that the larva from which the San Bushmen derive poison for their arrows feeds exclusively on this shrub.

General description and distinguishing characteristics

A shrub or small tree up to 5 m tall but often a sub-shrub of 50 cm to 2 m in the valley. Bark smooth, dark green or yellowish, peeling in yellowish strips. Branchlets densely hairy, spines up to 2 cm long. Leaves compound, trifoliate, terminal leaflet up to 8 x 5 cm long but often smaller; obovate, margins coarsely toothed. Lateral leaflets usually half to three quarters the size of the terminal leaflet. Petiole up to 4.5 cm long but usually less. Flowers produced before the leaves in axillary clusters or borne on the spines. Inconspicuous, greenish pink petals 3-5 mm long (September-October). Fruit almost spherical, 1.2 cm in diameter, grey-green; pseudaril either absent or occasionally covering about three quarters of the fruit (October-February).

Range and habitat

Commiphora africana is widely distributed throughout tropical Africa in dry savanna, and extends down into South Africa, Botswana and Namibia. In the valley, it is associated with Colophospermum mopane scrub woodland and Mopane woodland on sand.