Animal Sightings | Bird Sightings | Flora Sightings
Lonchocarpus capassa is a semi-deciduous tree, usually 4-10 meters high, with a rounded open crown. The bark is grey and smooth when young. The wood is quite attractive and is often used to make ornaments. Also known as the Rain Tree, it is reportedly able to "rain" or "cry" and is therefore highly prized by a number of tribes.
The Boscia albitrunca or "Tree of Life" as it is called, prefers open areas and usually stands alone. It is easily identified by its whitish bark, gnarled trunk and dark green canopy. This tree is so important that the Tswana people do not even want to chop its wood, as they believe that if they burn it, their cows will only produce male calves...
The ultimate giant, the Baobab or Adansonia digitata, occurs at low altitudes in hot, dry bushveld. Its bizarre appearance accounts for the name, "The Upside Down Tree" as its fleshy branches look like a root system stretching into the sky. Legend has it that they made the gods so angry with their constant complaints, that they tipped them upside down...
The Baobab tree produces large and waxy flowers between October and November each year, and these open just before dark and last a mere 24 hours.
The Acacia albida is a medium to large tree that usually occurs on riverbanks in the bushveld. Its branchlets are greenish white and it has reddish brown pods. The tree is very attractive to animals and its pods are often eaten by stock and game. Its bark is also used by people for medicine.
The Colophospermum mopane is by far the most dominant tree on Bivack. Commonly known as the Butterfly tree because of the shape of its leaves, it can grow as high as 18 metres. It produces small yellow-green flowers and kidney-shaped seed pods (if you look inside these pods, you will see a seed that looks like the side view of a human brain).
A big fan of the Mopane leaves is the Mopane worm, or Imbrasia belina. The worm is about 7 cm long and is black, red and yellow in colour. It is very high in protein and is considered a delicacy by many, either roasted and dried or as part of a relish.
The Leadwood or Combretum imberbe is known for its exceptionally hard and heavy wood (the Nguni word for the Leadwood means "tusk of the elephant"). The tree can grow up to as much as 20 metres in height and live for as long as 1000 years (at Bivack, we have one Leadwood tree that has been recorded to be 1200 years old). The word "imberbe" actually means beardless and refers to the fact that the Leadwood is completely without hair (even its leaves are covered instead by silvery scales).
The Acacia nigrescens is a medium to large tree with a rounded crown that occurs in the bushveld. Its distinguishing feature is of course the thorns that grow from raised knobs, particularly in young trees. Its bark is dark brown in colour and quite tough. The tree is quite liked by game, especially the giraffe and elephant.
The flowers of the Knob thorn are yellowish white in colour and its buds are often tinged with a bit of red or purple. They bloom in late winter to spring
The Terminalia prunioides bears pods in such an abundance that the entire tree assumes a purple hue. The white flower spikes have a pungent smell and cover the tree in spring and early summer. The leaves are eaten by a variety of browsers, including kudu, giraffe and elephant. The bark is widely used as anti-purgative.
The Hyphaene coriacea can reach 7 meters high and is often found in low-altitude bushveld. Its leaves are fan-shaped and it produces brown pear-shaped fruit, which is enjoyed by many. The sap of the tree is tapped to produce palm wine and the hard white kernel of the seed ("vegetable ivory") is carved into small ornaments. Even the leaves are used, often to make woven items such as baskets or mats
The Xanthocercis zambresiaca is also known as the Mashatu (which is the Shona word for a python, who is known to favour the tree). It can reach a height of 30 meters and its rounded canopy, supported by a massive trunk, is evergreen. The Venda know the Mashatu tree as the "Wedding Tree" and conduct their wedding ceremonies under it. Its wide canopy provides shade not only for the bridal couple but for many of they guests as well.
The Commiphora africana is a small to medium tree, usually occuring on mountain slopes in dry bushveld (this particular one is found at Eagle Rock). The bark is green and smooth and peels in large yellowish paper pieces. The bark has been used to make writing paper but it is brittle and easily torn. The root is chewed raw (for its sweet juice) and its fruit is also edible, can even be made into a jam or jelly.
The large-leaved rock fig or Ficus abutilifolia is easy to find in rocky areas with large boulders. With its conspicuous white roots spreading over the rock face, it often looks like it is "lounging" against the rock. It has a gnarled yellow-white smooth trunk with papery bark that peels off. The leaves are smooth and heart-shaped.
The Acacia tortilis is the most striking of the thorn trees in the bushveld, with a particularly flat umbrella canopy of grey-green leaves. The name "tortilis" refers to the twisted pods that it has, which are slightly coiled. The hooks are either straight or hooked and the leaflets are quite small, giving the tree a fine feathery appearance. In early summer the tree becomes covered in a number fo small and white flower balls.
These beautiful trees can often be found growing on the river banks and can grow up to 25 meters at a time. The Ficus sycomorus has a yellowish green bark that flakes off in patches . It is often visited by game (particularly elephants) because of the fleshy figs that it produces. The young leaves are even edible to humans and is cooked as a relish. The bark and latex are used medicinally.
The Schotia brahcypetala is a single-trunked tree that often grows on old termite mounds and along rivers at lower altitudes. It has a dense and dark green canopy, with crimson flowers growing from August to September. The brown, broad bean pods burst open on the tree from January to August. Interestingly enough, the termite mound and the tree co-exist in a symbiotic relationship for long periods at a time, the nutrients of the termite mound providing food for the tree and the tree providing nutrients and shade for the termites.
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Animal Sightings | Bird Sightings | Flora Sightings
