By JP Felu Terminalia prunioides Common names: Purple-pod Terminalia Shona: Muchanana Ndebele: Ivikane The genus name Terminalia depicts the fact that the leaves of Terminalia grow in terminal rosettes. Prunioides refers to the plum coloured pods. Terminalia prunioides likes low-altitude woodlands and bushveld along the Zambezi. Should you visit the long channel of Inner […]
By JP Felu Family: Annonaceae (The Custard Apple Family) Botanical name: Artabotrys brachypetalus Common name: Purple Hook-berry, Shona: Mukosvo, Ndebele: Umdzidzi The Annonnaceae family is represented in Zimbabwe by the following: Cleistochlamys kirkii; Friesodielsia obovata; Hexalobus monopetalus; Artabotrys brachypetalus, and Xylopia aethiopica. In Southern Africa there are some 20 species, mainly tropical. If you look
By JP Felu Family: Fabaceaea Sub-family: Caesalpinioideae (The Cassia and Brachystegia sub-family Common names: English-Weeping Boer-Bean, Tree Fuchsia; Ndebele- Nyamari; Shona- Mutondochuru The family Fabaceae or, using the more descriptive name Leguminoseae, is a huge group that contains virtually all plants that bear legumes with a bean- shaped fruit. The family is so large that
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By Tony Alegria The Jacaranda mimosifolia is a genus of 49 species of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae, which is native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas. Jacaranda mimosifolia or Blue Jacaranda is the species we know in Zimbabwe but I certainly don’t think it has blue flowers – purple, lilac or
Adenium multiflorum By JP Felu Family: Apocynaceae Botanical names: Adenium multiflorum (Adenium obesum var multiflorum) Common names: Sabi Star, Impala Lily, Desert Rose, T: Mbwayumba, Sh: Chisvosve Adenium multiflorum is, in Zimbabwe, a specially protected plant. One needs a special licence to cultivate, propagate or sell it. However, the status of hybrids in that respect
By J.P. Felu Schrebera alata, or the Wild Jasmine is a member of the Oleaceae, or olive family. In Zimbabwe, the olive family comprises of the two Schrebera species: S. alata (along the Great Dyke) and S.trihoclada (in the Zambezi Valley). The most common member of the Oleaceae is Olea europea which grows profusely in
By JP Felu Family: Sapindaceae (The Litchi family) Botanical name: Pappea capensis Common names: Jacket Plum, Indaba tree; Ndebele: Isagogwane; Shona: Chitununu This indigenous tree is characterised by its beautiful, delicious fruit. The Jacket Plum can be found all over Zimbabwe, but is not one of our dominant species. The fruit can be made into
By Isla Grundy The generic name Bolusanthus honours Harry Bolus (1834 to 1911) who was a South African botanist and the founder of the Cape Town Bolus Herbarium at UCT. The specific name speciosus means beautiful or showy in Latin. Other common names are mukwashanyama (S) and impaca (N). This is my favourite of all indigenous trees. It is
By JP Felu Down under it might be called Vachellia karroo, but I will stick to the name “Acacia.” After all, the first Acacia specimen (Acacia nilotica) was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1773 in Africa. Its common names are Sweet Thorn, Isinga (Ndebele), and Munenje (Shona). This tree is part of the Fabaceae family,
The first Saturday of December each year is National Tree Planting Day in Zimbabwe.This day was first set aside for tree planting in 1980, by Robert Mugabe, and has since been an important day in our environmental calendar.
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