Capparis tomentosa
Encyclopedia
The Woolly Caper Bush is a plant in the Capparaceae
family and is native to Africa
.
of South Africa
, through KwaZulu-Natal
, Mpumalanga
, Limpopo Province, Mozambique
, Botswana
, Namibia
and into Tropical Africa
. The northern part of the range extends from Senegal
to Eritrea
, and this species is also found in the Mascarene Islands
.
is 4–12 mm long and velvety.
s which are each 20–35 mm in length and may be crimson
coloured at the base. The sepals are boat-shaped and 8–10 mm long. The petals are whitish; 15–25 mm long and 7–10 mm wide.
. They are up to 40mm (50mm) in diameter; shiny green at first, ripening to pink or orange. The fruit contain many seeds embedded in a pinkish flesh. Dried-out, emptied fruit may hang on the plant for some time.
calves and Nubian goats were fed varying amounts of dry Capparis tomentosa leaves and died or were killed in extremis at various times after the commencement of dosing. Signs of Capparis poisoning in the sheep and calves were; weakness of the hind limbs, staggering, swaying, flexion of the fetlock
and phalangeal joints, pain in the sacral region, inappetence and recumbency. There was a decrease in the level of total protein and calcium and an increase of glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT), ammonia, sodium and potassium in serum. The main pathological changes were vacuolation of the neurons and axons in the spinal cord
, with necrosis
of the centrilobular hepatocytes and renal convoluted tubules and glomeruli. In Capparis-fed goats, anaemia developed and the results of kidney and liver function tests were correlated with clinical abnormalities and pathologic changes. The prominent features of toxicity were inappetence, locomotor disturbances, paresis
especially of the hind limbs and recumbency. Lesions comprised perineuronal vacuolation in the gray matter of the spinal cord at the sacral region, centrilobular hepatocellular necrosis, degeneration of the renal proximal convoluted and collecting tubules, serous atrophy
of the cardiac fat and renal pelvis and straw-coloured fluid in serious cavities. One goat which was receiving Capparis stem at 2.5 g/kg on an every other day basis for 8 days, developed signs of toxicosis, but recovered following cessation of plant administration.
Isolated compounds were identified in Capparis tomentosa as 24-ethylcholestan-5-en-3-ol a phytosterol
and a dipeptide
derivative, N-benzoylphenylalanylaninol acetate.
, Dixeia pigea
, Eronia leda
and Colotis evenina
. Game animals browse the leaves and monkeys and Bushpig
s eat the fruit.
Capparaceae
Capparaceae , commonly known as the Caper family, is a family of plants in order Brassicales. As currently circumscribed, it contains 33 genera and about 700 species...
family and is native to Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
Distribution
Found in bushveld and forest from the Eastern CapeEastern Cape
The Eastern Cape is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are Port Elizabeth and East London. It was formed in 1994 out of the "independent" Xhosa homelands of Transkei and Ciskei, together with the eastern portion of the Cape Province...
of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, through KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....
, Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga , is a province of South Africa. The name means east or literally "the place where the sun rises" in Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, north of KwaZulu-Natal and bordering Swaziland and Mozambique. It constitutes 6.5% of South Africa's land area...
, Limpopo Province, Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
, Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
, Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
and into Tropical Africa
Tropical Africa
Although tropical Africa is most familiar in the West as depicted by its rain forests, this region of Africa is far more diverse. While the tropics are thought of as regions with warm to hot moist climates caused by latitude and the tropical rain belt, the geology of areas, particularly mountain...
. The northern part of the range extends from Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
to Eritrea
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
, and this species is also found in the Mascarene Islands
Mascarene Islands
The Mascarene Islands is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar comprising Mauritius, Réunion, Rodrigues, Cargados Carajos shoals, plus the former islands of the Saya de Malha, Nazareth and Soudan banks...
.
Description
Growth Form
Mostly a robust woody climber; which in riverine vegetation may grow to the top of the canopy. It may also be a straggling shrub or small tree.Stem
The stem has sharp, paired, hooked spines. Young stems and spines are covered in dense velvety yellow hairs.Leaves
The leaves form between the spines and are alternate, oblong to broadly elliptic(30-80 x 15–25 mm), greyish-olive-green, covered in velvet hairs (or smooth); margins entire, rolled under. The petiolePetiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
is 4–12 mm long and velvety.
Flowers
The flowers form in clusters; terminaly on the primary branches or on short leafy lateral branchlets or occasionally scattered in the upper leaf-axils. They are large (35 mm) and scented, with a mass of pinkish-white stamenStamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
s which are each 20–35 mm in length and may be crimson
Crimson
Crimson is a strong, bright, deep red color. It is originally the color of the dye produced from a scale insect, Kermes vermilio, but the name is now also used as a generic term for those slightly bluish-red colors that are between red and rose; besides crimson itself, these colors include...
coloured at the base. The sepals are boat-shaped and 8–10 mm long. The petals are whitish; 15–25 mm long and 7–10 mm wide.
Fruit
The fruits hang from a long (25–50 mm) stalk-like branch called a gynophoreGynophore
A gynophore is the stalk of certain flowers which supports the gynoecium , elevating it above the branching points of other floral parts....
. They are up to 40mm (50mm) in diameter; shiny green at first, ripening to pink or orange. The fruit contain many seeds embedded in a pinkish flesh. Dried-out, emptied fruit may hang on the plant for some time.
Toxins
Desert sheep, ZebuZebu
Zebu , sometimes known as humped cattle, indicus cattle, Cebu or Brahmin cattle are a type of domestic cattle originating in South Asia, particularly the Indian subcontinent. They are characterised by a fatty hump on their shoulders, drooping ears and a large dewlap...
calves and Nubian goats were fed varying amounts of dry Capparis tomentosa leaves and died or were killed in extremis at various times after the commencement of dosing. Signs of Capparis poisoning in the sheep and calves were; weakness of the hind limbs, staggering, swaying, flexion of the fetlock
Fetlock
Fetlock is the common name for the metacarpophalangeal and metatarsophalangeal joints of horses, large animals, and sometimes dogs. It is formed by the junction of the third metacarpal or metatarsal bones proximad and the proximal phalanx distad...
and phalangeal joints, pain in the sacral region, inappetence and recumbency. There was a decrease in the level of total protein and calcium and an increase of glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT), ammonia, sodium and potassium in serum. The main pathological changes were vacuolation of the neurons and axons in the spinal cord
Spinal cord
The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular bundle of nervous tissue and support cells that extends from the brain . The brain and spinal cord together make up the central nervous system...
, with necrosis
Necrosis
Necrosis is the premature death of cells in living tissue. Necrosis is caused by factors external to the cell or tissue, such as infection, toxins, or trauma. This is in contrast to apoptosis, which is a naturally occurring cause of cellular death...
of the centrilobular hepatocytes and renal convoluted tubules and glomeruli. In Capparis-fed goats, anaemia developed and the results of kidney and liver function tests were correlated with clinical abnormalities and pathologic changes. The prominent features of toxicity were inappetence, locomotor disturbances, paresis
Paresis
Paresis is a condition typified by partial loss of voluntary movement or by impaired movement. When used without qualifiers, it usually refers to the limbs, but it also can be used to describe the muscles of the eyes , the stomach , and also the vocal cords...
especially of the hind limbs and recumbency. Lesions comprised perineuronal vacuolation in the gray matter of the spinal cord at the sacral region, centrilobular hepatocellular necrosis, degeneration of the renal proximal convoluted and collecting tubules, serous atrophy
Atrophy
Atrophy is the partial or complete wasting away of a part of the body. Causes of atrophy include mutations , poor nourishment, poor circulation, loss of hormonal support, loss of nerve supply to the target organ, disuse or lack of exercise or disease intrinsic to the tissue itself...
of the cardiac fat and renal pelvis and straw-coloured fluid in serious cavities. One goat which was receiving Capparis stem at 2.5 g/kg on an every other day basis for 8 days, developed signs of toxicosis, but recovered following cessation of plant administration.
Isolated compounds were identified in Capparis tomentosa as 24-ethylcholestan-5-en-3-ol a phytosterol
Phytosterol
Phytosterols, which encompass plant sterols and stanols, are steroid compounds similar to cholesterol which occur in plants and vary only in carbon side chains and/or presence or absence of a double bond. Stanols are saturated sterols, having no double bonds in the sterol ring structure. More than...
and a dipeptide
Dipeptide
A dipeptide is a molecule consisting of two amino acids joined by a single peptide bond.Dipeptides are produced from polypeptides by the action of the hydrolase enzyme dipeptidyl peptidase. Dietary proteins are digested to dipeptides and amino acids, and the dipeptides are absorbed more rapidly...
derivative, N-benzoylphenylalanylaninol acetate.
Human uses
This species has traditional medicinal and magical uses in Africa. It is a decorative plant in gardens and can be used for hedging; being suitable as a security barrier because of the hooked spines. The fruit may sometimes be eaten by people.Ecological significance
Several species of butterfly use this plant as a larval foodplant, including; Belenois gidicaBelenois gidica
Belenois gidica, the African Veined White or Pointed Caper, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found in the Afrotropic ecozone.The wingspan is in males and in females. Flight period is year-round....
, Dixeia pigea
Dixeia pigea
The Ant-heap Small White or Ant-heap White is a butterfly in the Pieridae family and is native to Africa.-Description:...
, Eronia leda
Eronia leda
Autumn Leaf Vagrant or Orange and Lemon is a butterfly of the Pieridae family. It is found throughout Africa.The wingspan is 50–55 mm for males and 48–56 mm for females. Adults are on wing year-round in warmer areas with peaks in late summer and autumn.The larvae feed on Capparis...
and Colotis evenina
Colotis evenina
The Common Orange Tip is a butterfly of the Pieridae family. It is found in the Afrotropic ecozone.The wingspan is 38–45 mm in males and 35–42 mm in females. The adults have fly year-round....
. Game animals browse the leaves and monkeys and Bushpig
Bushpig
The bushpig, Potamochoerus larvatus, is a member of the pig family and lives in forests, woodland, riverine vegetation and reedbeds in East and Southern Africa. Probably introduced populations are also present in Madagascar and the Comoros archipelago. Bushpigs are mainly nocturnal. There are...
s eat the fruit.