Searsia laevigata (L.) F.A.Barkley

Species

Angiosperms > Sapindales > Anacardiaceae > Searsia

Characteristics

Glabrous; leaves long-petio-led; leaflets sessile or shortly petiolate, ovate, acuminate, mucronate, entire, with sub-undulate margins, paler beneath; panicles axillary and terminal, elongated, lax; drupe globose, glabrous. Shrub, 5 feet or more. Bark thin, rough. Wood hard, reddish, called Essenhout (Ash-wood) in the Western districts, and Bosganna by the natives in the Eastern. Branches purple, branchlets elongate. Petiole 2-3 uncial, furrowed above; petiolules of the lateral leaflets0.5-1-2 lines, of the intermediate leaflets 3-4 lines long. Leaflets elevated-veined, shining above, acute at base, 2-3 inches long, 1-1.5 inch wide, the margins mostly quite entire, in var. B. with some acute, mucronate teeth. Panicles compound, loose; pedicels capillary. Flowers minute, yellowish-white. Drupe shining, the size of a pea.
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Shrub, 0.5-2.5 m high; much branched, multi-stemmed, unarmed, sometimes spinous; bark grey-brown, smooth; young branches chestnut-brown, glabrous. Leaves petiolate, trifoliolate; leaflets sessile, subcoriaceous, dark green above, paler below, widely obovate to occasionally lanceolate, margins entire, slightly revolute. Inflorescence axillary and terminal panicles, ± 60 mm long, lax, glabrous. Flowers small, greenish yellow, rarely bisexual or 6-merous; corolla lobes large, ± 2 mm long; styles free. Flowering time Nov.-Apr. Fruit a drupe, circular, globoid, glabrous, shiny, dull yellow to reddish, drying brown.
Leaves petiolate; leaflets sessil obovate, obtuse, mucronulate, quite entire, with revolute margins, hairy villous on both surfaces, as well as the petioles and branchlets; racem axillary, much shorter than the leaves, the terminal paniculated, some what longer; drupe orbicular, compressed, glabrous. Shrub or tree. Petioles 0.5-1 inch, furrowed above. Leaflets prominent-veined on both sides, 1.5 inch long, 1 inch wide, or 1 inch long, 6-7 lines wide. Panicles compound, the male usually longer; the ultimate pedicels 0.5-1 line long. Flowers minute. Drupe the size of a peppercorn.
Dioecious or rarely monoecious, deciduous shrub, up to 2.5 m tall. Leaves trifoliolate, leaflets sessile, obovate, with translucent net-like veins, dark green above, slightly paler below, smooth or hairy. Flowers greenish yellow. Drupe round, shiny, dull yellow to reddish.
An erect shrub or small tree. It can grow up to 10 m tall. The bark is dark brown and rough. The leaves have 3 leaflets. These are green and sword shaped. The flowers are small and green to yellow. They are in many branched heads. The fruit are almost round.
Dioecious, deciduous shrub to 2.5 m. Leaves trifoliolate, leaflets sessile, obovate, smooth or hairy. Flowers greenish yellow. Drupes round, shiny.
Life form perennial
Growth form shrub
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 2.5
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Environment

It is a subtropical plant. It grows in dry soils near water courses. It can grow in arid places.
Light -
Soil humidity 1-3
Soil texture 5-8
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-11

Usage

The fruit are eaten. They are also used as a yeast and to curdle milk.
Uses environmental use food material medicinal
Edible fruits
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
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Distribution

Searsia laevigata world distribution map, present in South Africa

Conservation status

Searsia laevigata threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:71176-1
WFO ID wfo-0000434903
COL ID 4W74G
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Rhus trifoliata Rhus tenuiflora Toxicodendron laevigatum Rhus atomaria Toxicodendron incanum Rhus pilipes Rhus hirsuta Rhus livida Toxicodendron villosum Searsia laevigata Rhus incana Rhus mucronata Rhus burmanni Rhus elongata Rhus trifoliata Rhus villosa Toxicodendron elongatum Searsia pubescens Rhus laevigata var. atomaria Rhus laevigata var. latifolia Rhus laevigata var. villosa Rhus mucronata var. atomaria Rhus mucronata var. laevigata Rhus mucronata var. latifolia Rhus mucronata var. villosa Rhus crassinervia

Lower taxons

Searsia laevigata var. laevigata