Brachystegia taxifolia Harms

Tree, treelet or bush, (1–)2–6(–16) m. high, with bole up to 1 m. in diameter; all young parts (except the leaflets) rather coarsely pubescent with fulvous to dark brown hairs; bark at first grey to whitish, becoming deeply and irregularly fissured, dark grey to black below (? only when burnt); crown flat, obconic or umbrella-shaped, dense, the dark foliage semi-evergreen; branchlets short, stiff.. Stipules free or very shortly connate, intrapetiolar, subulate, stiff, 1–2 cm. long, usually very persistent; auricles variable, tooth-like to digitate or 0.. Leaves with (20–)25–35(–45) pairs of very small leaflets, the middle pairs the largest; petiole 1–2 mm. long; rhachis channelled, (3–)4–8(–10) cm. long, intervals narrowly winged; leaflets narrowly oblong to falcate, 5–10(–15) × l–2(–3) mm., acute or rounded at apex, very obliquely rounded or truncate to subcordate at base; principal nerve submarginal; surfaces very discolorous, glabrous or puberulous, upper dark green, rugose with transverse nerves (or the nerves very obscure or invisible), lower glaucous or whitish.. Panicles terminal, small, dense, reduced to racemes when (often) depauperate.. Flowers greenish-white; bracteoles 6–9(–10) × 4.5–6(–7) mm.. Tepals 5–7(–8), usually all sepaloid, broadly imbricate, 2–4 × 0.5–3 mm., grading from very broad to narrow, densely ciliate with long brown hairs.. Stamens ± 10, free; filaments 9–15 mm. long.. Ovary 3–4 × 1–2 mm., ± densely crispate-setose; style 10–12 mm. long; stigma rather prominent.. Pod up to 12 × 4 cm., thinly woody, smooth but often transversely nervose, maturing pale to mid-brown, often lenticellate; sutural wings spreading, each 4–5 mm. wide.. Fig. 35/6, p. 160.

Locally dominant, esp. on wetland margins, hill slopes, river banks, rocky plateau areas; common in sandy and poor stony leached soils, esp. at high elevations and high rainfall areas. Also an undershrub in mixed open woodlands; 1,000-1,800 m.

Can be grown by seedlings.