Spirostachys africana
Encyclopedia
Spirostachys africana is a medium-sized (about 10 metres tall) deciduous tree
with a straight, clear trunk, occurring in the warmer parts of Southern Africa
. Its wood is known as tamboti, tambotie, tambootie or tambuti.
It prefers growing in single-species copses in deciduous woodland, often along watercourses or on brackish flats and sandy soils.
The leaves are small, elliptic with crenate margins, and turn bright red in winter before dropping. The petiole
has 2 small glands at the distal end. The grey-black rough bark
is distinctively split into neat rectangles. The catkin
-like flower
s appear in early spring before the leaves. Male and female flowers are borne separately on the same tree (monoecious). The small 3-lobed capsules or schizocarp
s split into three equal indehiscent segments (mericarps or cocci) when ripe; on a warm day this splitting (dehiscence
) can sound like a fusillade
of shots. The seeds are globose with a chartaceous testa.
industry for its beautiful, dense and durable timber
, which is reddish-brown with darker streaks, a satin-like lustre and extremely fragrant sweet, spicy smell. The oily timber exudes a white, poisonous latex
when freshly cut, and campfires that burn tambuti fuel give off noxious fumes contaminating meat or other food grilled on the flames or coals. The latex is used as a fish
poison, is applied to arrow-tips and is used as a purgative by indigenous tribes. The active principle is the diterpene
excoecarin, named for the India
n Euphorbiaceous mangrove
Excoecaria agallocha.
Even the smoke from a tamboti fire is poisonous and could result in gastronomic distress. The wood should not be used for cooking fires, although once it has burnt down, the glowing coals can safely be used.
The fruits while green are frequently parasitised by the small grey moth
Emporia melanobasis (Pyralidae
: Phycitinae
). Larvae develop with the growing fruits which show no external damage. When the fruits are mature each splits into 3 cocci. The larvae jack-knife inside the fallen segments, causing them to move about erratically and vigorously, to the surprise of the uninitiated. This has led to the name "Jumping Bean Tree". The Mexican jumping bean
, Sebastiania
sp., also belongs to the Euphorbia family and is parasitised by the moth Cydia deshaisiana
.
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
with a straight, clear trunk, occurring in the warmer parts of Southern Africa
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. Within the region are numerous territories, including the Republic of South Africa ; nowadays, the simpler term South Africa is generally reserved for the country in English.-UN...
. Its wood is known as tamboti, tambotie, tambootie or tambuti.
It prefers growing in single-species copses in deciduous woodland, often along watercourses or on brackish flats and sandy soils.
Description
Petiole (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...
has 2 small glands at the distal end. The grey-black rough bark
Bark
Bark is the outermost layers of stems and roots of woody plants. Plants with bark include trees, woody vines and shrubs. Bark refers to all the tissues outside of the vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the wood and consists of the inner bark and the outer bark. The inner...
is distinctively split into neat rectangles. The catkin
Catkin
A catkin or ament is a slim, cylindrical flower cluster, with inconspicuous or no petals, usually wind-pollinated but sometimes insect pollinated . They contain many, usually unisexual flowers, arranged closely along a central stem which is often drooping...
-like flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s appear in early spring before the leaves. Male and female flowers are borne separately on the same tree (monoecious). The small 3-lobed capsules or schizocarp
Schizocarp
A schizocarp is a dry fruit that develops from multiple carpels. When mature it splits up into mericarps. Mericarps are often 1-seeded as in, for example, Malva, Malvastrum, and Sida...
s split into three equal indehiscent segments (mericarps or cocci) when ripe; on a warm day this splitting (dehiscence
Dehiscence (botany)
Dehiscence is the opening, at maturity, in a pre-defined way, of a plant structure, such as a fruit, anther, or sporangium, to release its contents. Sometimes this involves the complete detachment of a part. Structures that open in this way are said to be dehiscent...
) can sound like a fusillade
Fusilier
Fusilier was originally the name of a soldier armed with a light flintlock musket called the fusil. The word was first used around 1680, and has later developed into a regimental designation.-History:...
of shots. The seeds are globose with a chartaceous testa.
Wood
Despite its being prone to heart-rot, it is prized in the furnitureFurniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
industry for its beautiful, dense and durable timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
, which is reddish-brown with darker streaks, a satin-like lustre and extremely fragrant sweet, spicy smell. The oily timber exudes a white, poisonous latex
Latex
Latex is the stable dispersion of polymer microparticles in an aqueous medium. Latexes may be natural or synthetic.Latex as found in nature is a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants . It is a complex emulsion consisting of proteins, alkaloids, starches, sugars, oils, tannins, resins,...
when freshly cut, and campfires that burn tambuti fuel give off noxious fumes contaminating meat or other food grilled on the flames or coals. The latex is used as a fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
poison, is applied to arrow-tips and is used as a purgative by indigenous tribes. The active principle is the diterpene
Diterpene
Diterpenes are a type of terpenes composed of four isoprene units. They derive from geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate. Diterpenes form the basis for biologically important compounds such as retinol, retinal, and phytol...
excoecarin, named for the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n Euphorbiaceous mangrove
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
Excoecaria agallocha.
Toxicity
Meat cooked over a fire made from the wood of this tree causes severe diarrhea, death may occur. http://www.sanparks.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8194Even the smoke from a tamboti fire is poisonous and could result in gastronomic distress. The wood should not be used for cooking fires, although once it has burnt down, the glowing coals can safely be used.
Jumping beans
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
Emporia melanobasis (Pyralidae
Pyralidae
The Pyralidae or snout moths are a family of Lepidoptera in the ditrysian superfamily Pyraloidea. In many classifications, the grass moths are included in the Pyralidae as a subfamily, making the combined group one of the largest families in the Lepidoptera...
: Phycitinae
Phycitinae
The Phycitinae are a subfamily of snout moths . Even though the Pyralidae subfamilies are all quite diverse, Phycitinae stand out even by standards of their family: with over 600 genera considered valid and more than 4000 species placed here at present, they unite up more than three-quarters of...
). Larvae develop with the growing fruits which show no external damage. When the fruits are mature each splits into 3 cocci. The larvae jack-knife inside the fallen segments, causing them to move about erratically and vigorously, to the surprise of the uninitiated. This has led to the name "Jumping Bean Tree". The Mexican jumping bean
Mexican jumping bean
A Mexican jumping bean is an occurrence native to Mexico, where it is known as Frijoles saltarines . Physically, Mexican jumping beans resemble small beans, tan to brown in colour. They are a seed pod through which the larva of a small moth has chewed. The bean "jumps" because when it gets in a...
, Sebastiania
Sebastiania
Sebastiania is a plant genus in the Euphorbiaceae family, comprising about 100 species. These are shrubs found in tropical and warm areas.Species include:*Sebastiania alpina*Sebastiania crenulata*Sebastiania fasciculata...
sp., also belongs to the Euphorbia family and is parasitised by the moth Cydia deshaisiana
Cydia deshaisiana
Cydia deshaisiana or jumping bean moth is a moth from Mexico that is most widely known as its larva, where it inhabits the carpels of seeds from several species of the shrub genus Sebastiania . These seeds are commonly known as Mexican jumping beans.The moth lays the egg on the young pod...
.