''Julbernardia paniculata'' is a medium to large tropical tree, also known as muchesa. It is widespread over the warmer parts of south tropical

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, preferring moderately high altitudes, typically . It is very common over its range and is the dominant woodland tree in

Miombo woodland The Miombo woodland is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome (in the World Wide Fund for Nature scheme) located primarily in Central Africa. It includes four woodland savanna ecoregions (listed below) characterized b ...

over much of central

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and northern

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northe ...

Distribution

The muchesa is restricted in its range by availability of reliably wet conditions in the growing season of November to March. The rest of the year's rainfall is less important although it should be much drier as it requires at least a short dry resting period so its northern limits are determined by sufficient contrast between these two seasons. It does not occur south of the

Zambezi river The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than hal ...

as it cannot withstand any frost or months with average temperatures of or below. As a result, it grows in a band across the continent from north and north-east

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

through Katanga in

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

and across the northern two-thirds of

towards the inland plateau of north

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Mala ...

and as far north as central

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

Appearance

Unlike its close relatives the

msasa ''Brachystegia spiciformis'', commonly known as zebrawood, or msasa, is a medium-sized African tree having compound leaves and racemes of small fragrant green flowers. The tree is broad and has a distinctive amber and wine red colour when the y ...

and mnondo the muchesa does not become bare during the dry season and only loses its leaves in the run-up to its spring flush of new leaves between mid-August and early September. As a result, it makes much less of a brilliant show of colour than other miombo woodland trees. The new leaves are, however, a very attractive red colour. The tree itself grows a well-proportioned shape and fine specimens are common, usually reaching heights of in its favoured localities such as plateau woodland. The tree is recognisable by its grey bark, which flakes off in chunks leaving a rough surface and a rusty-brown inner bark exposed. The leaves contain two leaflets, with the end two being bigger than the first two so the leaf hangs slightly on still days. The flowers are insignificant themselves, as with other Julbernardia species, but are noticeable as velvety-brown sprays among the foliage. The

dehiscent Dehiscence is the splitting of a mature plant structure along a built-in line of weakness to release its contents. This is common among fruits, anthers and sporangia. Sometimes this involves the complete detachment of a part; structures that o ...

pods appear in September and split open to scatter the seeds when mature.Trees of Central Africa, Coates Palgrave, K., (1961), Longman Hardback

Uses

The bark is used to extract

tannin Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' (from Anglo-Norman ''tanner ...

for tanning leather, while the leaves are highly prized for feeding to cattle due to their high nutritional content. They are also the source of favourite local delicacy - some kinds of fat caterpillars that feed on the leaves and are collected and roasted as a snack. Perhaps the greatest value attached to the tree is its use as a source of nectar. The small blossoms may appear on the tree from late March (the end of the growing season) until June or even later and contain copious quantities of nectar at a time when few other trees are in bloom so beekeepers rely on it to maintain their production throughout the year.

References

External links

Info page in LegumeWeb
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q6305622

paniculata A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

Trees of Africa Afromontane flora Flora of West-Central Tropical Africa Flora of South Tropical Africa Miombo Trees of Southern Africa