Commiphora schimperi
(Berg.) Engl.
Glossy-leaved corkwood
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What to Eat
Edible parts: Gum, Resin, Roots, Bark - tea, Shoots
The roots are chewed for their sweet taste. The resin exuded by the bark is chewed. The inner red bark is used in tea.
Where to Find It
It is a tropical plant. In Kenya it grows between 400-1,900 m altitude. It grows on well-drained dry soils that can be sandy or have clay. It can grow in arid places.
Africa, Botswana, Central Africa, Congo, East Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya, Middle East, Mozambique, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Yemen, Zimbabwe,
How to Identify
A spiny shrub. It loses is leaves. It grows 5 m high. The bark is reddish brown and peels off in rolling strips. The branches have spines at the tips. The leaves have 3 leaflets. The central leaflet is 3.5 cm long. The side leaflets are smaller. The flowers are in small clusters in the axils of leaves. They are red and cup shaped. The fruit are oval and 1.3 cm long. They split to reveal black seeds. These are surrounded by a bright red covering.
How to Grow
Plants can be grown from stem cuttings. It is grown as a hedge plant.
Other Uses
A gum resin is obtained from the stems. It is used like myrrh.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Commiphora schimperi, also known as glossy-leaved corkwood, is a tree species in the genus Commiphora. It is native eastern and southern Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula, from Sudan and Yemen in the north to Botswana and northern South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal and Northern Provinces) in the south.
Names & Synonyms
Chalinaka, Ekwangorom, Lekola, Mokgonkgoro, Mukwendekwende, Munyera, Mrunye, Osilalei, Qeyi, Seroka
References (16)
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