Plants photographed elsewhere in Namibia (not on Kyffhäuser)
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Searsia undulata Jacq.


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Searsia undulata

Image 1
Leaves
02 Apr 2015

Searsia undulata

Image 2
Leaves
02 Apr 2015

Searsia undulata

Image 3
Leaves
02 Apr 2015



Family: Anacardiaceae
Full name: Searsia undulata Jacq.
ID status: Fairly certain
Afrikaans common name(s): Koeniebos, Taaibos, Kunibos, Gharrabos, Ghnarrabos, Namakwakoeniebos
English common name(s): Kuni bush, Namaqua kuni-bush
Synonym(s): Rhus undulata Jacq.
Rhus celastroides Sond. fide Fl. S. Africa 19 (3:1): 87
Rhus excisa Thunb. fide Fl. S. Africa 19 (3:1): 87
Rhus undulata Jacq. forma contracta (Schönland) R.Fern.
Rhus undulata Jacq. forma contracta Schönland
Rhus undulata Jacq. forma excisa (Thunb.) R.Fern.
Rhus undulata Jacq. forma excisa (Thunb.) Schönland
Rhus undulata Jacq. forma undulata Schönland
Rhus undulata Jacq. var. celastroides (Sond.) Schönland - p.p.
Status: Native
Description: Aromatic, much-branched, multistemmed, evergreen shrub up to 3 m high. Bark grey-brown, smooth to granular; branches dark brown, divaricate, branchlets somewhat squarrose, ribbed, often ending in stiff spurs. Leaves trifoliolate, petiolate, odoriferous; petiole semiterete, canaliculate above, often semi-alate, (4-)12(-24) mm long; leaflets sessile, membranous, concolorous, olive-green, glutinous to laccate, amphistomatous; lamina oblanceolate to widely obovate, somewhat repand in upper half; base attenuate, apex retuse, rounded, obtuse, subacute or acute, mucronulate, sometimes plicate; margin entire to irregularly crenate in upper half and apex; venation kladodromous to semicraspedodromous, midrib prominent above and below, secondary veins slightly prominent above, impressed below; terminal leaflets (6-)22(-53) x (1-)9(-18) mm, lateral leaflets (5-)15(-38) x (l-)6(-15) mm. Panicles up to 50 mm long, lax, much branched, minutely flowered, axillary and terminal, latter exposed. Flowers normal. Drupe oblate, ellipsoid, glabrous, shiny, dull yellow to cream, 5.5 x 3.4 to 6.4 x 4.5 mm. (from JSTOR Global Plants website / Flora of Southern Africa)

Glabrous; branchlets angulate; leaves longish-stalked; leaflets sessile, obovate, tapering to the base, acute, obtuse, or emarginate, mucronulate, with undulate-denticulate margins, or incised, 5–7 dentate, glossy above, parallel-veined on both surfaces; panicles axillary and terminal, equalling the leaves or longer; drupe globose, glabrous. Very similar to R. lucida, of which it has the habit, but the leaves are longer-stalked, the leaflets thinner, smaller and undulate, mostly dentate, and the panicles longer. From the preceding it is distinguished by the glabrous, resinous, shining, long-stalked leaves. Branchlets patent. Petiole 0.5–1 inch long, winged. Leaflets membranaceous, with pellucid veins, wedge-shaped, obtuse, or sub-acuminate, 1–1.75 inches long, 6–10 lines wide, the lateral ones smaller and more oval. Male panicle 3–4 inches long, lower branches 1.5–2 uncial; pedicels capillary; female or hermaphrodite panicles shorter and less compound. Drupe shining, sub-compressed, the size of a small pea. (from JSTOR Global Plants website / Flora Capensis)

Dense, evergreen, many-stemmed shrub, up to 3.5 m high; known mainly from mountainous areas in southern and south-central Namibia. BARK grey-brown; young branchiets covered in waxy scales, occasionally spiny, especially on older branches. LEAVES trifoliolate, spirally arranged, with a shiny, lacquered appearance; 4 terminal leaflet obovate, 10-30 x 6-10 mm, widest about one-third of the length from tip, sticky; lateral leaflets slightly smaller; both surfaces dark green, hairless; margin undulate, entire to crenate; apex usually tapering to a blunt tip; base narrowly tapering; petiole m long, green, hairless. INFLORESCENCE an axillary or terminal spray, up to 30 mm long. FLOWERS small, green to yellow; August to March. FRUIT a sub-spherical, somewhat flattened drupe, up to 5 mm in diameter; shiny, green to creamy yellow, but occasionally reddish when ripe. LEAVES and young growth are browsed by small stock. It is used medicinally by Nama people. (from Trees and shrubs of Namibia, 2nd Ed., Mannheimer and Curtis)

Evergreen, dense shrub. BARK grey-brown; young branchlets covered in waxy scales; occasionally spiny, especially older branches. LEAVES with a shiny, lacquered appearance; leaflets obovate, small, glandular, sticky; both surfaces dark green. FLOWERS small, star-like, greenish-yellow. FRUIT shiny, green to creamy yellow, but occasionally reddish when ripe. (from Tree Atlas of Namibia)
Link(s) African Plant Database
JSTOR Plant Science
Kew Herbarium Catalogue
BGBM Berlin-Dahlem - Virtual Herbarium
Züricher Herbarien
iNaturalist (Namibia / Alex Dreyer)
iNaturalist (Namibia)
iNaturalist (southern Africa)
Flora of Zimbabwe
Fleurs de notre Terre - Galerie Namibie
Tree Atlas of Namibia
Content last updated: 18 Apr 2024


Note: The identification of some of the plants on this website is not 100% certain. Any comments will be highly appreciated. I would also be willing to supply higher resolution images upon request. Please contact me at the e-mail address given below.

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