Mopane

Common card · No. 478424

Colophospermum mopane, commonly called mopane, mopani, butterfly tree, turpentine tree, or balsam tree, is a tree in the legume family (Fabaceae), that grows in hot, dry, low-lying areas, 200 to 1,200 metres (660 to 3,940 ft) in elevation, in parts of Southern Africa. The tree only occurs in Africa and is the only species in genus Colophospermum. Its distinctive butterfly-shaped (bifoliate) leaf and thin kidney-shaped/nearly semi-circular seed pod make it easy to identify. Though hard and dense and difficult to work with, it is valued timber in all sorts of construction due to its termite tolerance. Together with camel thorn and leadwood, it is one of the three regionally important firewood trees, due to the enduring heat, and these woods are also some of the preferred use culinarily for braai.

Read on Wikipedia · Image Roger Culos, CC BY-SA 3.0