''Searsia lucida'', previously known as ''Rhus lucida'', and commonly known as the varnished kuni-rhus (English) or blinktaaibos (Afrikaans).
Description
The tree seldom reaches a height of more than 2 metres and can spread as a shrub over several meters too.
The stems and branches are upright and erect. Young stems are red, shiny, resinous and sticky.
The leaves are shiny (''"lucida"'' = "shiny"), trifoliate, leathery (sub-coriaceous), and a dark to olive green colour (often becoming orange before being shed).
The
leaflets' shape is obovate-cuneate, often with small notches in their rounded tips. The leaflets are the same colour above and below, with a prominent central keel and fine lateral veins visible. Damaged leaf-surfaces become pale, almost white.
The leaf's petiole (stalk) is slightly winged, at least along its upper half.
It produces creamy-white flowers from June to October, in small, sparse, terminal inflorescences. The flowers are small, with petals less than 2 mm long.
It bears spherical fruits 4–5 mm in diameter, which are initially green and turn shiny brown as they mature (Oct-Nov). The fruits are eaten by birds.
Related species
This species closely resembles ''
Searsia pallens'' and ''
Searsia undulata
''Searsia'' may refer to:
* ''Searsia'' (fish), a genus of fish in the family Platytroctidae
* ''Searsia'' (plant), a genus of plants in the family Anacardiaceae
{{Genus disambiguation ...
'', which co-occur over much of its distribution range.
The leaf of ''Searsia pallens'' also has a 10mm
petiole that is slightly
winged
A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expresse ...
, but it has leaflets that are much longer (40mm) than they are wide (10mm). Its leaflets have 4 to 6 lateral veins per centimeter.
''Searsia pallens'' also has glossy fruits that are 4-5mm wide, but its fruits are elliptical-ovoid.
''Searsia lucida'' in contrast, has a rounded fruit, and fewer lateral veins on its leaves (only 2 or 3 per centimeter). The leaflets of ''Searsia lucida'' are also broader and more oval in shape.
[Coates Palgrave, M. (2002) ''Trees of southern Africa.'' Struik, Cape Town.]
Distribution and habitat
This small tree has a distribution along the West Coast of
South Africa from
Saldanha Bay around the
Cape and up the East Coast almost until the
Mozambique border. Its distribution area also encompasses
Lesotho
Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...
and the whole of
Kwazulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...
and stretches in an arm past
Eswatini
Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...
, right up the Lowveld areas of
Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...
and into
Limpopo Province and
Zimbabwe.
[
It is found in scrub or forest areas from sea level to 2000 metres elevation.
]
References
External links
*
Operation Wild Flower
iSpot
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15244083
lucida
Flora of the Cape Provinces
Flora of KwaZulu-Natal
Flora of Lesotho
Flora of the Northern Provinces
Flora of Zimbabwe
Fynbos
Renosterveld
Trees of South Africa
Plants described in 1753