Dichapetalum cymosum indicator plants

Abstract

Terminalia sericea: (Silver terminalia, Vaalboom) Distribution: Occuring almost exclusively on sandy soils. Locally very common. Can be dominant or codominant where it grows. Botanical description: General: A small to medium sized well-shaped tree usually 4 to 6 m in height; but sometimes reaching 10 m. The purplish-black bark peels to reveal the light brown inner bark. Leaves: Clustered towards the ends of the slender branchlets. Pale green, covered with silky hairs which give it a characteristic sheen - especially the young leaves. Mature leaves sparsely hairy. Flowers: Small, pale greenish-white in axillary spikes. Unpleasantly scented. Late spring. Fruit: Flat, indehiscent. Broadly elliptic with a round notched tip. Contains one seed surrounded by a flat wing. Pink to rose-red when mature, drying to russet-brown.

Burkea africana: (Wild syringa, Sandsering) Distribution: Common in dry areas in red sandy soils in woodland and lowveld bush, but occuring in various types of woodland over a wide range of altitudes and habitats. Botanical description: General: A medium sized tree 8 to 10 m in height, usually flat-crowned and branching low down. Very rough bark, grey-brown to blackish, fissured into rectangles and flaking off. Leaves: Blue-green, clustered at the ends ofthe branches. Bipinnate, with two pairs of pinnae and 5 to 9 alternate leaves per pinna. Flowers: Small, white to creamy, about 5 mm in diameter, produced in drooping spikes up to 24 cm long near the ends of the bare branchlets. Sweet-scented. October - November. Fruit: Drooping bunches of thin, flat indehiscent pods that are about 8 x 2,5 cm, pale brown, each containing one seed.

Ochna pulchra: (Peelingplane, Lekkerbreek) Distribution: Occurring at medium to low altitudes in open woodland, usually on warm slopes of rocky hills and very often in sandy soil. Botanical description: General: A small tree usually 2 to 4 m tall with a narrow crown. Bark greyish-brown, peeling in large pieces to reveal a creamy-white, smooth, shiny inner bark. The branches are very brittle. Leaves: Elliptic to lanceolate leaves, spirally arranged on the branches. Secondary veins ending in the leaf margin. Leaves rather thin with smooth margins, but may be toothed towards the apex. Young leaves light green and coppery, mature leaves yellowish-green to dark green. Flowers: Clusters of pale yellow or greenish yellow flowers on long slender stalks in a raceme. The enlarged persistent sepals become showy pink to coral-red. The calyx is persistent, changing from bright green through brown to red. Fruit: Usually 1 to 3 separate kidney-shaped fruits, attached laterally, black when mature.