Guibourtia coleosperma (Benth.) J.Léonard

Rhodesian copalwood (en)

Species

Angiosperms > Fabales > Fabaceae > Guibourtia

Characteristics

A tree which keeps its leaves most of the year. It grows up to 19 m tall. It has a large crown and the branches tend to hang downwards. The trunk has buttresses. The bark is grey to red-brown and becomes rough with age. The leaves are made up of 2 wing like leaflets. These are up to 10 cm long and 2 cm wide. They are slightly curved. They are smooth and glossy and have fine transparent dots. The leaflets have short stalks and are not hinged together. The whole leaf is carried on a stalk about 1.9 cm long. The flowers are small and white. The pods are small, shiny and shaped like a half circle. They are dark and have a stalk on one side. They have one brown seed enclosed in a scarlet skin. This red layer (aril) is edible. The seeds are edible.
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Leaves paripinnate, unijugate; stipules 15 × 2 mm, very narrowly ovate, very early caducous; petiole 1.5–3 cm long, glabrous; leaflets 3.5–8 × 2.3–4.5 cm, ovate to elliptic, asymmetric, apex acuminate, base cuneate, glabrous; a single main vein from the base, dividing the blade in a ratio of 2–3:1, venation slightly prominent on both surfaces, areolae with small resin vesicles.
Inflorescences axillary and terminal, paniculate; axis angular, glabrous to very sparsely puberulous; bracts and bracteoles very early caducous, the bracts c.2 mm long, broadly ovate, pubescent, the bracteoles c.1.5 mm long, broadly ovate, pubescent.
Seed dark brown, shiny, c.15 × 10 mm, broadly ellipsoidal, somewhat flattened; aril completely enclosing the seed, red when fresh, pale brown and brittle when dry.
Pod 2.5–3.5 × 1.6–2.2 cm, asymmetrically elliptic, flattened, glabrous, the wall wrinkled and with numerous resin-filled vesicles, 1-seeded, tardily dehiscent.
Ovary 2-ovulate, c.1 mm diameter, subcircular, glabrous; stipe very short, densely pubescent; style c.5 mm long, glabrous; stigma capitate, bilobed.
Branchlets brown, smooth, becoming grey with fine longitudinal cracks and red-brown lenticels, or entirely red-brown, glabrous.
Germination epigeal; cotyledons suborbicular to very broadly ovate, slightly asymmetric, 3–4-nerved from the base, glabrous.
Sepals 4(5), unequal, c.6 × 2–4 mm, ovate, glabrous outside, densely puberulous inside.
Stamens 10; filaments c.7 mm long, glabrous; anthers dorsifixed.
Tree to 30 m tall; bark grey, smooth, sometimes flaking.
Flowers 7–8 mm long; pedicels 2–5 mm long, angled.
First true leaves similar to foliage leaves.
Petals absent.
Life form perennial
Growth form tree
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination entomogamy
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 20.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) 1.7
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color -
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

A tropical plant. It often grows on sand dunes in the desert. It can grow in salty soils. It grows between 900-1,100 m above sea level. In Zimbabwe it grows between 750-1,400 m above sea level. It grows in areas with an annual rainfall of about 400 mm. It can grow in arid places. It has deep roots that enable it to tolerate dry periods.
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Open forest with Isoberlinia, Brachystegia; in pure stands here and there; almost confined to deep Kalahari sand; at elevations from 750-1,400 metres.
Light 7-9
Soil humidity 4-6
Soil texture 3-6
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 10-12

Usage

The red layer (aril) around the seed is eaten either mixed with porridge or made into a drink. The seed are roasted and ground and eaten. They are used in soups and porridges.
Uses animal food environmental use food fuel gene source material medicinal poison vertebrate poison wood
Edible arils fruits seeds
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

Guibourtia coleosperma unspecified picture

Distribution

Guibourtia coleosperma world distribution map, present in Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe

Conservation status

Guibourtia coleosperma threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:497148-1
WFO ID wfo-0000168307
COL ID 3HKMT
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Guibourtia coleosperma Copaifera coleosperma Copaiva coleosperma Copaiba coleosperma