Searsia tomentosa (L.) F.A.Barkley

Species

Angiosperms > Sapindales > Anacardiaceae > Searsia

Characteristics

Much-branched shrub or small tree up to 5 m high. Bark smooth grey-brown; branches divaricate, reddish brown, glabrous or puberulous to tomentose, shallowly ridged, minutely lenticellate. Leaves trifoliolate, petiolate; petiole semiterete, shallowly canaliculate above, reddish or canescent, (9-)19(-34) mm long; leaflets coriaceous, discolorous, dark grey-green and glabrous to thinly pubescent above, creamy canescent and villous-tomentose to lanate below, hypostomatous, petiolulate, petiolules canaliculate, 3-5 mm long; lamina widely lanceolate, elliptic or obovate, base cuneate, apex generally acute, occasionally rounded or acuminate, mucronulate; margin slightly thickened, entire or grossly pauciserrate in upper 2/3, venation simple craspedodromous to reticulodromous, midrib and secondaries prominent below, impressed above, tertiaries prominently reticulate above; terminal leaflets (29-)49(-79) x (8-)22(-45) mm, lateral leaflets (19-)35(-59) x (7-)17(-25) mm. Panicles lax, much-branched, glabrous or thinly pubescent, axillary and terminal, males up to 90 mm long, odoriferous, exposed, females up to 50 mm long, within foliage. Flowers normal, calyx thinly pubescent. Drupe oblate, ellipsoid, creamy canescent, shortly villous-tomentose, 4.4 x 3.0-6.4 x 4.3 mm.
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Branches puberulous or glabrous; leaves petiolate; leaflets elliptic or ovate, acute, or acuminated at both ends, entire or coarsely serrated from the middle to the apex, smoothish above, whitish-tomentose beneath; panicles terminal, downy, longer than the leaves; drupe depressed, globose, pubescent. A shrub or tree, height of trunk 2-3 feet, diameter 3-4 inches. Branches somewhat patent, branchlets brownish-purple. Leaflets green and costate above, ribbed below, quite entire or with 3-6 teeth, the lateral ones smaller, the terminal 1.5-2 inches long, 1-1(1/4) inch wide, in var. B. 1.5-2.5 inches long, 6-8 lines wide. Common petiole 0.5-1 inch or longer, sub-terete; petiolules in var. a. very short or wanting, in var. B. 3-6 lines long. Panicles mostly terminal, elongated; flowers minute. Fruit the size of a small pea.
Tree or shrub, 0.5-5.0 m high, much branched; bark grey-brown, smooth; branches reddish brown, glabrous to tomentose, ridged, lenticels tiny. Leaves petiolate, trifoliolate; leaflets petiolulate, coriaceous, dark grey-green and glabrous to pubescent above, creamy canescent and lanate below, widely lanceolate, elliptic or obovate, margins slightly thickened, entire or grossly pauciserrate in upper 2/3. Inflorescence in lax, much-branched panicles, glabrous or pubescent, axillary or terminal; males up to 90 mm long, scented, exposed; females up to 50 mm long, within foliage. Flowers: calyx pubescent. Flowering time Jan.-Oct. Fruit a drupe, oblate, ellipsoid, creamy canescent.
A shrub or small tree. It grows up to 5 m tall. It has many branches. The bark is smooth and grey-brown. The branches have shallow ridges. They have red hairs when young. Older branches are green. The leaves are alternate and have 3 leaflets. The leaflets are 3-9 cm long by 1-4 cm wide. The end leaflet is the largest. They taper to the base. The flowers are in branched groups in the axils of leaves or at the ends of branches. Male and female flowers are on separate plants. The fruit is round and fleshy. It is 4-6 mm long by 3-4 mm wide. It has a grey covering.
Much-branched shrub or small tree, up to 5 m high. Leaflets petiolulate; usually 1.5-3.0 x longer than broad, discolorous, dark grey-green and glabrous to thinly pubescent above, creamy canescent and villous tomentose to lanate below; terminal leaflet (29-)49(-79) x (8-)22(-45) mm; petiolules 3-5 mm long. Flowers: corolla dull yellow; Sep.-Jun. Fruits ellipsoid, pubescent.
Much-branched shrub or small tree, up to 5 m high. Leaflets usually 1.5-3.0 times longer than broad, discolorous, dark grey-green and glabrous to thinly pubescent above, creamy canescent and villous-tomentose to lanate below. Flowers dull yellow.
Dioecious, evergreen shrub or small tree to 6 m. Leaves trifoliolate, leaflets stalked, obovate, discolorous, often toothed. Flowers cream-coloured. Drupes ellipsoid, hairy.
Life form perennial
Growth form tree
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality dioecy
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 5.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

It is a tropical and subtropical plant. It grows on rocky mountain slopes. It can grow up to 2,500 m altitude.
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Rocky mountain slopes and on edges of low bushland vegetation, at elevations up to 2,500 metres.
Light -
Soil humidity 3-5
Soil texture 6-8
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

Usage

The fruit is edible but not attractive.
Uses environmental use fiber material wood
Edible fruits
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

Habit

Searsia tomentosa habit picture by Maarten Vanhove (cc-by-sa)

Leaf

Searsia tomentosa leaf picture by Maarten Vanhove (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Searsia tomentosa flower picture by Maarten Vanhove (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Searsia tomentosa world distribution map, present in India, Lesotho, South Africa, and Zimbabwe

Conservation status

Searsia tomentosa threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:71189-1
WFO ID wfo-0001038495
COL ID 4W76D
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Rhus plukenetiana Toxicodendron tomentosum Searsia tomentosa Rhus bicolor Rhus viticifolia Rhus ecklonis Rhus elliptica Rhus mollis Rhus lobata Toxicodendron viticifolium Rhus tomentosa