Small Knobwood - Kloof Conservancy BioGuide
Height 5m but can get to 15m in favourable conditions
SA Tree Number 253
Conservation Status This is a protected tree in South Africa in terms of the National Forests Act no. 84 of 1998.
This is a single-stemmed tree which branches upwards to form a moderate, V-shaped canopy. The bark on young branches is smooth with straight dark brown thorns and light to dark grey on older branches and on stems with straight spines on scattered cone-shaped knobs.
It has glossy dark green leaves.
The most noticeable features of the small knobwood are the small cone like knobs all the way up the trunk of the tree
The small knobwood is distributed from Zimbabwe in the north to the Western Cape in the south. It is mostly found in dry to evergreen woodland and on rocky hill slopes, but has adapted to a wide range of habitats.
Flower - Fruit
Inconspicuous, greenish-white, sweet-scented flowers grow in sprays at the end of the twigs. Similar male and female flowers are on separate trees (Oct –Feb) (20 – 60 mm).
The fruit is a round splitting capsule up to 5 mm in diameter, covered with glands, green, turning red when ripe, splitting later to reveal a single black, oil-rich seed per capsule.
An excellent garden tree which stands out.
Larvae of the following butterflies feed on the leaves of this tree: the citrus swallowtail (Papilio demodocus), the white-banded swallowtail (Papilio echeroides) and the emperor swallowtail (Papilio ophidicephalus).
The ripe fruits are eaten by vervet monkeys.
The leaves are browsed by grey duiker and the seeds are eaten by mousebirds and barbets.
The wood can be used to make pick handles, knobkieries, planks and yokes. The seeds are used to make perfume. A wide range of medicinal uses is recorded, and are used in traditional medicine.
Not a very common tree and can be confused with the Forest Knobwood which is more common in the Kloof forests.
The leaves have a strong citrus smell when crushed.
Zanthoxylum is Greek, xanthos meaning ‘yellow', xylon meaning ‘wood'; capense means 'of the Cape'. Several species of this genus have yellow heartwood.
Sappi Tree Spotting KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape.
Izikhathi zonyaka Siwisa amaqabunga ebusika.
Ubude 5m kodwa singawutholoa u, 15m endaweni ezisivunayo.
Conservation Isimo Isihlahla esivikelwe eNingizimu Afrika ngokomkhawulo we, National Forests Act No. 84 ka 1998.
Isihlahla esinesiqu esisodwa esimagatsha aphezulu enza sifaneleke, umpheme ongu, V. Amaxolo emagatsheni amancane ayashelela kanye nomugqa oqondile onsundu ngokufiphele kanye nokukhanya kuya kokumpunga ngokufiphele kumagatsha amadala nakwiziqu kanye nomgogodla oqondile kwisikhanda esisabalele.
Sinamaqabunga aluhlaza ngokufiphele ngokucwebezelayo.
Izingxenye eziqaphelekayo kumnungamabele omncane ikhoni elincane njengesikhanda yonke indawo kwisigodo lwesihlahla.
Umnungumabele omncane wabelwe kusuka e-Zimbabwe eNyakatho kuya kwi-Western Cape eNingizimu. Sinokutholakala kakhulu kwizindawo ezomisile kuya kuzindawo zamahlathi ezihlala ziluhlaza kanye nakwimimango ekhuphukayo enamatshe, kodwa zijwayele ukuhlelekela kuzindawo zokuhlala.
Asiqhamile, simhlophe ngokuluhlaza, izimbali ezinephunga elimtoti akhula nhlamvana ekugcineni kwegatshana. Kuyafana izimbali zesilisa nezesifazane aba sezihlahleni ezahlukene (Mfumfu-Nhlolanja) (20 – 60 mm).
Isithelo siyindilinga sihlukane sibe zinhlamvu angaba u, 5mm kwidayamitha, ambozwe amathunjane, aluhlaza, ajike abe bovu uma evuthiwe, ahlukane ekugcineni ukuveza elilodwa elimnyama, elinamafutha empandeni yegobongo.
Isihlahla esimangalisayo simile engadini.
Impethu yokudla kwezivemvane okulandelayo kumaqabunga alesihlahla: Isithombo Sovemvane (Pailio demodocus), njengesisila senkonjane esinomushwe omhlophe (Papilio Echoroides) kanye nesisila senkonjane esobukhosini (Papilio Ophidicephalus).
Isithelo esivuthiwe sidliwa izinkawu ezibuswana bumnyamana.
Ukhuni ungalusebenzisa ukwakha izibambo zokuphakamisa, izagila, amapulangwe namajoka.
Imbewu isetshenziselwa ukwenza iziqholo. Ububanzi bokuhleleka kokusisebenzisa emithini kuqoshiwe, kanti kusetshenziswe kwimithi yemvelo.
Akusona isihlahla esivame kakhulu kanti ungasididanisa nomsimbithwa wasehlathini wona ovamile kakhulu emahlathini aseKloof.
Amaqabunga anephuna lesithombo esinzima ecubuziwe.
Zanthoxylum isi Greek, xanthos okuchaza “okuphuzi”, xylon okusho “ukhuni” Capense okuchaza “okwe Kapa”. Izinhlobo eziningi zalezinhlobo zinenhliziyo yokhuni ephuzi.