Macaranga capensis (Baill.) Sim

A small to medium tree 3.5–20 m., or large tree up to 30 m., often with a spreading somewhat flattened crown.. Stems and branches spiny when young.. Bole white, unbranched for up to 12 m.. Bark smooth, grey or brownish on the branches.. Wood white, hard.. Young shoots and inflorescence-axes densely ferruginous tomentellous at first, later glabrescent.. Petioles (2–)10–20(–30) cm. long, pulvinate at the base, ferruginous tomentose at first, and also sometimes whitish hispid, the tomentum later disappearing, the whitish hairs persisting; leaf-blades broadly ovate to triangular-ovate, (6–)10–30(–40) cm. long, (4–)10–20(–30) cm. wide, shortly acutely acuminate, (caudate in juvenile leaves), entire or (juvenile leaves) glandular-denticulate, shallowly to deeply cordate, or, if peltate, then truncate or rounded, with or without a small cluster of glands near the petiole insertion, membranous in juvenile foliage, chartaceous or occasionally thinly coriaceous in mature foliage, (5–)7–11-nerved from the base, lateral nerves (6–)9–13 pairs, not or scarcely prominent above, prominent be-neath, brochidodromous, tertiary nerves parallel, circular and concentric at the base in the peltate leaves, quaternary nerves generally indistinct, densely minutely uniformly glandular-punctate beneath, the glands drying blackish, ferruginous to fulvous tomentellous above and beneath and whitish hirsute along the midrib and main nerves beneath at first, later more or less glabrescent above and beneath except for the whitish hairs along the midrib and main nerves beneath, not glaucous beneath.. Stipules lanceolate, 1–2 cm. long, 4–8 mm. wide, acutely acuminate, entire, ferruginous tomentellous, caducous.. Inflorescences axillary, solitary.. Male inflorescences paniculate, 8–10(–14) cm. long; axes slightly zigzag toward the apex; bracts triangular-ovate, 4–5(–8) mm. long, those of the main axis larger and more stipule-like than those of the lateral axes, the distal bracts somewhat thickened, strongly reflexed, sinuate-lobate, with a gland on each side and at the apex adaxially, 20–30-flowered.. Male flowers subsessile; calyx-lobes 2–3, ovate, 0.75 mm. long, sparingly pubescent without, glabrous within, greenish cream; stamens 2–3(–4), filaments ± free, 1 mm. long, anthers obscurely 4-thecous, 0.3 mm. across, yellow.. Female inflorescences paniculate or subpaniculate, (2.5–)5–12 cm. long, axes straight; bracts ± as in the ♂ inflorescences, but only 3–5-flowered.. Female flowers shortly pedicellate, the pedicels 1–2 mm. long; calyx urceolate, splitting into 2–3(–4) lobes and becoming cupular then flattened as the fruit matures, fulvous tomentellous without, glabrous within, yellow-green or green; ovary unlobed, rarely bilobate, 1–1.5 mm. long, 0.75–1 mm. wide, densely yellowish granulate-glandular; styles 1(–2), recurved, ± free when 2, 2–3 mm. long, adaxially densely fimbriate-papillose and abaxially pubescent.. Fruit subglobose, rarely bilobate, 3–5 mm. long, 4–6 mm. diameter, densely yellowish-green granulate-glandular, later becoming smooth and glabrous when the glands rub off.. Seeds subglobose, 2.5–3 mm. diameter, ± smooth, shiny, dark purplish-brown to blackish.

Evergreen forest; forest patches in grassland; secondary or disturbed forests; forest margins; riverine and gully forests; woodland on mountain slopes; swamp forest (mushitu) margins; locally common to dominant; at elevations from 305-3,000 metres.

Can be grown by seedlings.