''Allophylus natalensis'', commonly known as the dune false crowberry
or dune false currant,
is a species of plant in the genus ''
Allophylus
''Allophylus'' is a genus within the plant family Sapindaceae
The Sapindaceae are a family (biology), family of flowering plants in the order Sapindales known as the soapberry family. It contains 138 genera and 1,858 accepted species. Example ...
'' native to south-eastern Africa.
Description
''Allophylus natalensis'' is a small evergreen tree with a single stem up to tall, or it may develop as a bush with multiple, shorter stems. The bark is greyish-brown and may have a smooth texture or develop wrinkles. The smaller branches are greyish-white and downy. The leaves are borne on long
petioles and are trifoliate, with three, almost stalkless, elliptical leaflets some long by wide. The leaflets are leathery and stiff, glossy green above, and pale green below, with shallowly toothed margins. The small fragrant flowers grow in spike-like
raceme
A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate growth, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are ...
s in the axils of the leaves, and are followed by abundant red, globular berries, in diameter. Flowering takes place in autumn between March and May and the berries ripen in late winter, between June and August.
[
]
Distribution and habitat
This tree is native to the Eastern Cape Province
The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...
and KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...
in South Africa and to southern Mozambique.[''Allophylus natalensis'' (Sond.) De Winter]
''Plants of the World Online
Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
History
Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...
''. Retrieved 25 September 2023. Its natural habitat
In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...
is coastal dune forest and scrub,[ where it often grows in association with '' Mimusops afra'', '']Apodytes dimidiata
''Apodytes dimidiata'' (white pear or umDakane) is a bushy tree with white flowers bearing a fragrance reminiscent of fresh coconut, and small black and red fruits. It is usually about 5 m tall (but reaches a height of 20 m when growing ...
'' and '' Canthium obovatum''.
Ecology
The flowers are pollinated by butterflies
Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...
and the berries are appreciated by both birds, which disperse the seeds, and humans. The larva
A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...
e of the pearl emperor butterfly (''Charaxes varanes'' subsp. ''vologeses'') feed on the foliage,[ and the larvae of '' Corethrovalva goniosema'', a moth in the family ]Gracillariidae
Gracillariidae is an important family of insects in the order Lepidoptera and the principal family of leaf miners that includes several economic, horticultural or recently invasive pest species such as the horse-chestnut leaf miner, ''Cameraria ...
, mine the leaves, as do the larvae of '' Stigmella allophylica'', a moth in the family Nepticulidae
Nepticulidae is a family of very small moths with a worldwide distribution. They are characterised by eyecaps over the eyes (see also Opostegidae, Bucculatricidae, Lyonetiidae). These pigmy moths or midget moths, as they are commonly known, inc ...
.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15302929
natalensis
Flora of the Cape Provinces
Flora of KwaZulu-Natal
Flora of Mozambique