Trees of the Year 2003

Rare Tree: Wild Teak

National Tree Number: 236
Botanical name: Pterocarpus angolensis
Other names: Blood Wood; Kiaat (Afrikaans), UmVangazi, Umbilo (Zulu).

Description:
Medium size to large tree up to 20 metres in height.

The bark is dark grey to brown, rough and longitudinal fissured. Leaves are shiny pale-green with velvety hairs beneath and on the stalks and have conspicuous parallel side veins. The are compound with 5 to 9 pairs of subopposite to alternate leaflets. Flowers are orange-yellow and pear-shaped, produced in large but branched sprays (10-20cm long) and blossoms in August to December. Fruit are a very distinctive light green to papery brown, circular pod, indehiscent up to 100 mm in diameter. The seed case is covered with long stiff bristles, flat wing papery wavy and in clusters. The pods do not split but remain on the tree through the winter.

General:
Bees use this trees for nectar and helps in the cross-pollination process.

Uses:
Wood is used for household utensils. The sap is used a permanent dye for cloth. Medicinally the sap is used as a cure for nose bleeding. It is used mixed with fats as an ointment for anointing the body. The bark is used for several purposes including treating gonorrhoea, malaria and also treatment for black water fever.