Brachystegia boehmii Taub.

Species

Angiosperms > Fabales > Fabaceae > Brachystegia

Characteristics

Tree (2.5–)5–15(–21) m. high; pubescent to tomentose or more rarely the leaflets glabrous; bole without rounded bosses (so far as known); bark rough, long-persistent, ± coarsely reticulate, with many narrow fissures and transverse cracks, grey to brown (black when burnt only ?); crown flat-topped, with few, heavy branches and stout branchlets; foliage long, pendulous in tufts; flush pink to brick-red, turning through buff or yellow to pale green, maturing darker; fallen dead leaves dull reddish.. Stipules shortly connate, filiform to linear-filiform or subspathulate, (2–)3–4(–5) cm. long, subpersistent, usually grading downwards into large brown and crimson bud-scales at flushing and upwards into the often bifurcate lower bracts at flowering-time; auricle usually persistent, reniform, (0.5–)1–1.5(–2) cm. long, rarely caducous or undeveloped; stipule-bases persistent, usually prominent, subtending flattened and laterally keeled dormant buds.. Leaves with (13–)14–28(–30) pairs of leaflets, the middle or lower middle pairs the largest; petiole stout, 0.3–1 (–1.2) cm. long, the very stout pulvinus usually forming half to the whole; rhachis (8–)10–30(–35) cm. long, 20–50 times as long as the petiole, ± channelled; stipels or wings variable or 0, often obscured by coarse pubescence; leaflets narrowly oblong to narrowly triangular, (2.5–)3–6 × (0.7–)1–1.5 cm., rounded or obtuse to emarginate and then often asymmetric at apex, obliquely rounded or subtruncate to cordate at base; midrib subcentral or somewhat excentric; main nerves above (except the 4–6 fanwise basal nerves) scarcely more obvious (in mature leaflets) than the very closely reticulate veins (all areolations usually complete and equally prominent, 10–20 per square mm. at maturity, especially close in glabrous forms, otherwise often obscured by hair); lower surface typically pubescent to floccose with long yellowish crispate hairs throughout or with much denser rusty to dark brown spreading hairs on the midrib, but often glabrous or nearly so.. Panicles ± erect above the foliage, terminal or terminal and axillary, up to 10 × 8 cm., much-branched, dense-flowered, always pubescent to tomentose with yellow to rusty and often dark brown hairs; peduncle short or 0, typically stout, sulcate when dry.. Flowers yellowish-green with white filaments; bracteoles 6–10 × 4–7 mm., rather thick, pubescent to tomentose, with longer darker hairs on the usually prominent keel.. Tepals (4–)5(–8), usually free; outer (4–)5 sepaloid, broad, imbricate, up to 4.5 × 3.5 mm., densely ciliate, often 1 or more pubescent outside; inner 0 or l–2(–3), linear to spathulate, 4–6 mm. long, glabrous or sparsely ciliate.. Stamens ± 10, ± free, 10–12 mm. long.. Ovary 4 × 2 mm., densely setose.. Pod thickly and rigidly woody, up to 16(–20) × 5 cm., held conspicuously like a flag above crown of tree, maturing pale to yellowish-brown or pinkish, surface becoming finely scurfy throughout, usually at an early age, never (?) prominently warted through insect-attack (cf. 11, B. glaberrima and 12, B. × longifolia); sutural wings stiffly spreading, 5–9 mm. wide.. Fig. 35/4, p. 160.
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Leaves 8–35 cm long; petioles 3–12 mm long including a 2–7 mm long pulvinus; rachis deeply canaliculate with raised and winged margins, glabrous or pubescent; leaflets in 15–30 overlapping or widely spaced pairs, middle leaflets or those next to the proximal largest; proximal leaflet pairs 1.5–4.5 × 0.5–1.5 cm, the middle ones 3–6.5 × (0.5)0.7–1.8 cm, the distal ones 2–5 × 0.5–1.5 cm, oblong or oblong-elliptic, rounded, obtuse, retuse or emarginate at the apex, obliquely round or cordate at the base, glabrous or pubescent; midvein central or subcentral, with 3–5 secondary veins diverging from the proximal leaflet base.
A tree. It grows 15 m tall. The bark is cracked. It is dark grey. The leaves are 8-35 cm long. The leaflets are in 15-30 overlapping pairs. The leaflets near the middle are largest. The flowers are in branched groups near the ends of branches. The fruit are pods 7-25 cm long by 3-5.5 cm wide. They are oblong and dark brown. There are up to 6 seeds. These are 15-25 mm long by 12-16 mm wide. They are oval.
Stipules persistent, 15–55 × 1–3 mm, filiform, linear, lanceolate or spathulate; auricles 10–20 × 5–10 mm, reniform to subcircular, caducous independently of the stipules, lamina palmately nerved, pubescent.
Tree up to 15 m tall; bark deeply or shallowly fissured longitudinally and often coarsely reticulate, flaking in thick irregular scales, dark grey; young branchlets glabrous or brown-pubescent.
Sepals 4–5, the proximal median sometimes fused with one or both of the laterals, 3–4 × 1.5–3 mm, oblong, orbicular or oblong-lanceolate, imbricate, entire to densely ciliate on the margins.
Inflorescences in much-branched terminal and/or axillary panicles up to 10 cm long; bracts 2–3.5 × 2–3 mm, ovate to oblong, acute at the apex.
Pods 7–25 × 3–5.5 cm, oblong to obovate, round to obtuse at the apex, dark brown, with spreading, suberect or revolute ventral flanges.
Flowers 5–8 × 3–4 mm; pedicels to 3 mm long; bracteoles 6–8 × 3–5 mm, obovate or orbicular, densely pubescent.
Ovary 3–6 × 2–3 mm, to 8-ovulate, densely pubescent; stipe to 4 mm long.
Stamens 10, united to 1 mm at the base; filaments 10–12 mm long.
Petals 0–3, 3–5 × 0.5–1 mm, filiform to spathulate.
Seeds up to 6, 15–25 × 12–16 mm, oblong to ovoid.
Dormant axillary buds much flattened.
Life form perennial
Growth form tree
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention -
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 10.0 - 15.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) 1.7
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color -
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

It is a tropical plant. It grows on deciduous woodland on hill slopes. It grows between 900-1,600 m altitude. In Brisbane Botanical Gardens.
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Locally dominant in deciduous woodland on hill slopes; also common on reddish rocky soils; at elevations from 900-1,600 metres.
Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

Usage

The inner bark is chewed.
Uses fiber food fuel gene source material medicinal wood
Edible barks
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Can be grown by seedlings.
Mode seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Brachystegia boehmii unspecified picture

Distribution

Brachystegia boehmii world distribution map, present in Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, United Republic of, Zambia, and Zimbabwe

Conservation status

Brachystegia boehmii threat status: Critically Endangered

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:482192-1
WFO ID wfo-0000213702
COL ID N24Q
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Brachystegia boehmii Brachystegia hopkinsii Brachystegia ferruginea Brachystegia filiformis Brachystegia flagristipulata Brachystegia woodiana Brachystegia luishiensis Brachystegia katangensis Brachystegia oblonga Brachystegia malengensis Brachystegia kalongoensis

Lower taxons

Brachystegia boehmii var. katangensis