Balanites pedicellaris
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| Balanites pedicellaris | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Zygophyllales |
| Family: | Zygophyllaceae |
| Genus: | Balanites |
| Species: | B. pedicellaris |
| Binomial name | |
| Balanites pedicellaris (Welw.) Mildbr. & Schltr.[1] | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Balanites pedicellaris, the small green-thorn or small torchwood is a small tree or shrub from Sub-Saharan Africa. It is a member of the caltrop family Zygophyllaceae.
Balanites pedicellaris is a multi-stemmed shrub or small tree, although some specimens may have a single fluted trunk.[2] The branches are yellowish or greyish-green, bearing simple green spines. The leaves are alternate or grow on the spines, bifoliolate; the leaflets obovate, pale green, rather fleshy, down covered with a short downy petiole. The greenish-white flowers have 6 petals and are bunched in small, axillary clusters, approximately 1.4 cm in diameter. The fruit is a drupe, which is round or ellipsoid and normally flattened on either end, it measures 1·2–2·5 × 1·5–2 cm., the unripe fruit is usually covered in downy hairs but these are lost on the ripe fruit which is orange in colour.[3][4] Grows up to 6m tall.[4]
Distribution
Balanites pedicellaris occurs from Ethiopia and Somalia south through eastern Africa to KwaZulu Natal in South Africa.[2]