Medicinal Plants of Namibia | Page 18

Plant:!Colophospermum&mopane!
Family:!Fabaceae9!!
!
Common(names:!!
!Oenis22!!
||Gâihes22!!
||Gâis22!!
Ironwood47!!
Mopane22!!
Mopanebaum22!
Mopani22!!
Mopanie22!!
Mupani22!!
Mupânyi22!!
Omufyati35!!
Omusati9!!
Omutati22!!
Pana22!!
Tsaura!hais22!!
Tsaurahais22!!
Turpentine!tree47!!
(
Range:(
Colophospermum&Mopane!grows!in!Kaokoveld,!which!is!bordered!by!the!Kunene!
River!to!the!north!in!Northwestern!Namibia2,!13.!!C.&mopane!typically!lives!in!
conditions!that!are!indicative!of!poor!soil!conditions!with!an!annual!rainfall!of!60!
mm!to!200!mm13.!!!
!
Diagnostic(characteristics:!
The!most!prominent!diagnostic!feature!of!
this!tree!is!the!butterfly!shaped!leaf5.!!
During!the!winter!C.&mopane!has!bright!
colored!leaves47.!!The!young!leaves!are!red,!
turning!green!with!age47.!!The!smell!of!
crushed!leaves!resembles!turpentine13.!!!
!
Those!unfamiliar!with!the!mopane!might!
mistake!it!for!the!false!mopane,!Gouibourtia&
coleosperma,!which!is!the!only!other!tree!in!
the!immediate!area!to!have!similarly!shaped!
bifolate!leaves13.!!A!prime!distinction,!
however,!from!the!false!mopane!is!the!ocher!
(redSbrown)!color!of!the!mopane!fruit!that!has!a!sappy!seed!coat47.!!This!species!is!
an!excellent!survivor!of!drought,!often!being!the!only!woody!species!in!the!dry!
conditions!of!the!area!it!is!most!common!in5,!13.!!
!