Kingdom Plantae Family Anacardiaceae Scientific name Searsia lucida | Order Sapindales Genus Searsia Rank Species | |
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Similar Rhus glauca, Rhus angustifolia, Rhus dentata, Searsia, Searsia leptodictya | ||
Searsia lucida, previously known as Rhus lucida, and other names varnished kuni-rhus (English) blinktaaibos (Afrikaans). This small tree has a distribution along the West Coast of South Africa from Saldanha Bay around the Cape and up the East Coast almost until the Mozambique border. Its distribution area also encompasses the whole of Kwazulu-Natal and stretches in an arm past Swaziland, right up the Lowveld areas of Mpumalanga and into Limpopo Province, almost to the Zimbabwe border. The tree seldom reaches a height of more than 2 metres and has attractive shiny leaves. It is found in scrub or forest areas from sea level to 2000 metres above. It produces small, creamy-white flowers, which bear fruits 4 mm in diameter, which are initially green and turn shiny brown as they mature. The fruits are eaten by birds.
