Where you'll find this tree easily:

Silver Cluster-leaf can grow in loose groups, or in lines along seepage areas, and sometimes in deep sand it forms open canopied woodland. It is a tree of the north, from the western South African border with Namibia, along the Botswana and Zimbabwe borders, down the Mozambique border into northern KwaZulu-Natal.
 

Afrikaans Vaalboom  N. Sotho MogÔnÔnÔ, Moletsa-nakana  Tsonga Nkonono
Tswana MogÔnÔnÔ  Venda Mususu  Zulu amaNgwe-amphlophe, umKhonono

Terminalia in Latin means ‘end’, as the leaves are at the ends of branchlets; sericea refers to the soft, silvery hairy leaves.
 

General Info Form & Features

• This is a silvery-blue, upright, single-trunked tree.
• The branches leave the trunk at different levels to form distinct, horizontal layers.
• The rough, dark bark is deeply fissured lengthways.
• The Simple elliptic leaves are clustered towards the tips of slender branchlets and twigs.
• The young leaves have silver hairs, giving the tree a characteristic silver shine.
• The two-winged pods are pinky-purple when mature, drying to brown, and remaining on the tree for long periods. 

Seasonal Changes

Deciduous. Although this tree is without leaves for most of the winter, the horizontal, branching growth form is characteristic and makes identification easy. In summer the new leaves with their silvery hairs further assist identification.

Leaves

The spiral elliptic leaves have a broadly tapering tip that tends to be pointed, and a narrowly tapering base. They are pale green to grey-silvery-green and leathery, and have a smooth margin (55 – 120 x 13 – 45 mm).

Flowers

The inconspicuous, pungent, cream to yellow flowers grow on spikes in the angle made by a leaf. (Sep – Jan) (Spike: up to 70 mm long; individual flower; 4 mm diam.)

 

Pods

The pods grow in bunches at the ends of branchlets and twigs. They may remain on the tree until the next flowering season (Jan – Jun) (25 – 60 x 15 – 25 mm).

Bark

The branchlets are dark brown or purplish. They flake in rings and strips, to reveal pale brown under-bark. Young twigs are covered in fine, silvery hairs.

Gardening

This tree grows well in deep, sandy soils and can be an attractive addition to gardens. It is fairly frost- and drought-resistant but is difficult to grow from the few undamaged seeds that may be found.

Human uses

Fence poles, household goods, firewood and axe handles are made from the wood. Extracts of the bark are used as an antidote to poisons, to treat diabetes and wounds, and for tanning. Root extracts are used as eye lotions and as remedies for stomach disorders, diarrhoea and pneumonia.

Links with animals

Although the nutritional value is low, leaves and young shoots are eaten by elephant, giraffe, kudu and impala. Dry leaves on the ground are eaten by wildebeest, and branches by elephant and giraffe.

For more information on this tree and a wealth of others in the region, get a copy of the Sappi Tree Spotting Guide to the Cape - from Cape to Kalahari. Illustrations by Joan van Gogh/Penny Noall