Searsia burchellii
| Family: | Anacardiaceae |
| Full name: | Searsia burchellii Sond. ex Engl. |
| Location: | Kyffhäuser (2416AD + 2416CB) |
| ID status: | Fairly certain |
| Afrikaans common name(s): | Karoo-koeniebos, Taaibos, Blinkblaar taaibos, Kunibos, Kuniebos |
| English common name(s): | Karoo kuni-bush, Kuni-bush |
| Synonym(s): | Rhus burchellii Sond. ex Engl. Rhus burchellii Sond. ex Engl. var. tricrenata Engl. fide Fl. S. Africa 19 (3:1): 82 Rhus rangeana Engl. fide Fl. S. Africa 19 (3:1): 83 Rhus undulata Jacq. var. burchellii (Sond. ex Engl.) Schönland Rhus undulata Jacq. var. tricrenata (Engl.) R.Fern. |
| Status: | Native |
| Description: | Much-branched, evergreen, sometimes thorny, divaricate shrub up to 5 m high. Bark granular, grey-brown; branches and branchlets squarrose, prominently lenticellate. Leaves trifoliolate, petiolate, crowded on spurs; petiole semiterete, canaliculate above, (4-)8(-11) mm long; leaflets sessile, subcoriaceous, concolorous, olive-green, laccate, glabrous, hypostomatous; lamina cuneate, obtriangular to obcordate, base cuneate to attenuate, apex emarginate, mucronulate, rarely paucicrenulate; margin entire; venation klado-dromous, midrib slightly prominent above and below, other veins impressed, usually obscure; terminal leaflets (7-)13(-23) x (3-)7(-13) mm, lateral leaflets (5-)10(-16) x (3-)5(-10) mm. Panicles and flowers are similar to that of the previous species, S. longispina. Drupes also similar but slightly more compressed, 3.7 x 2.2 to 6.3 x 3.7 mm, width/thickness ratio ±1.7 compared to ±1.5 in S. longispina. (from JSTOR Global Plants website / Flora of Southern Africa) Searsia burchellii is a much-branched, evergreen shrub or small tree that grows up to 5 m high. Bark is granular, grey brownish. Leaves are small, trifoliolate, glossy, waxy, olive green and crowded at the ends of short, spur-like branchlets. Branchlets are sometimes spine-tipped. Small cream-coloured flowers are borne in loose clusters among the leaves in autumn (April–May). Male and female flowers are borne on different plants and only female plants bear fruits. Fruits are ellipsoid, thinly fleshy, green to reddish brown, drupes, somewhat compressed and flattened, 3.7 × 2.2 to 6.3 × 3.7 mm, borne in autumn and winter (May–July). (from http://pza.sanbi.org/searsia-burchellii) |
| Link(s) |
African Plant Database
JSTOR Plant Science Kew Herbarium Catalogue BGBM Berlin-Dahlem - Virtual Herbarium Züricher Herbarien iNaturalist (Namibia / Alex Dreyer) iNaturalist (Namibia) iNaturalist (southern Africa) Flora of Zimbabwe Fleurs de notre Terre - Galerie Namibie Tree Atlas of Namibia |
| Photographer: | AA Dreyer |
| Date of photograph: | 30 Sep 2006 |
| Camera make: | Canon |
| Camera model: | PowerShot A700 |
| Lens aperture: | f/4.0 |
| Shutter speed: | 1/200 s |
| ISO speed: | - |
| Content last updated: | 12 Oct 2021 |
