Kingdom Plantae Family Ochnaceae Scientific name Ochna pulchra | Order Malpighiales Genus Ochna Rank Species | |
Similar Ochna, Burkea africana, Terminalia sericea, Lannea discolor, Ozoroa paniculosa | ||
Ochna pulchra, also known as Lekkerbreek (Afrikaans 'breaking easily', i.e. 'brittle'), is a small deciduous southern African tree up to 5 m, commonly found on deep sandy soil and rocky slopes, and belonging to the tropical family of Ochnaceae, which is widespread in Asia and Africa.
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Description
Its bark is distinctive, peeling in thin flakes to expose creamy-white underbark, similar in appearance to that of Corymbia maculata, guava or Pride-of-India.
Spring foliage has an oily appearance to the surface and ranges from light green to bronze or bright red, turning to a fresh, shiny green when mature. Lemon-yellow flowers appear in great abundance in spring, the persistent yellow-green calyx turning pink then bright red. The fruit, a kidney-shaped drupe, is initially green maturing to black.
Range
The tree occurs in the central Transvaal and northern Kruger National Park, extending further to Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Angola, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
It is an indicator species of so-called Gifveld, that is veld where the toxic Dichapetalum cymosum is present, which is small and easily overlooked.