Commiphora mossambicensis Engl.

Tree up to 10 m. tall; bark rather smooth, grey or reddish brown; slash aromatic, yielding a hard yellow gum; branchlets pubescent or less often glabrous.. Leaves coriaceous, 3(–5–7–9)-foliolate, hispidulous, pubescent or glabrescent; petiole usually longer than the terminal leaflet, up to 11 cm. long; leaflets suborbicular, broadly ovate or broadly elliptic, usually entire, truncate rounded or broadly cuneate below and then narrowed to a conspicuously long petiolule, truncate, rounded or broadly acuminate at the apex, up to 6 and 8 cm. long and 6 cm. wide; petiolules of lateral leaflets up to 10 mm., that of the terminal leaflet up to 20 mm.. Flowers appearing with the leaves, often while the rather persistent oblong prophylls, which may be up to 10 mm. long and 3 mm. wide, are still present.. Male inflorescences hispid, loosely spicate with up to 12 compact clusters distributed along an axis, up to 9 cm. long above a peduncle up to 5 cm. long, the lowest clusters occasionally on stalks 11–14 mm. long; bracts linear or linear spathulate, 5–6 mm. long; calyx hispidulous, ± 1.4 mm. long including the acute triangular 0.8 mm. long teeth; petals elliptic-oblong, acute, glabrous or sparsely pubescent, 3 mm. long, 0.5 mm. wide; filaments 1.2 and 0.7 mm., anthers 0.6 and 0.5 mm. long.. Female inflorescences short and compact, 1–3 cm. long including a peduncle under 11 mm. long; petals ± 1.6 mm. long; ovary tapering to the capitate stigma without a distinct style.. Fruits in dense clusters which, including the fruits themselves, are under 3 cm. long, globose or asymmetrically broadly ovoid, subglabrous or pubescent, ± 9 × 8 × (2 + 5) mm. when dry; pericarp 2-valved; pseudaril with 4 wavy-margined arms, the sutural as long as the stone, the facial ± half as long; stone with a strongly and broadly ridged fertile locule and an almost flat sterile locule, thus triquetrous, the angles rather carunculate, ± 8 × 7.5 × (1.5 + 4) mm.. Fig. 10/1–5.

A tropical plant. It grows in the hot arid bushveld. It is often on rocky hillsides. It grows in areas with a rainfall between 500-800 mm per year. It grows between 390-1,600 m altitude. It can grow in arid places. It grows in Miombo woodland.

The roots are chewed probably for their sweet moisture.

Trees are used as a live fence.