Allophylus natalensis

Allophylus natalensis, commonly known as the dune false crowberry[1] or dune false currant,[2] is a species of plant in the genus Allophylus endemic to south-eastern Africa.

Allophylus natalensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Sapindaceae
Genus: Allophylus
Species:
A. natalensis
Binomial name
Allophylus natalensis
(Sond.) De Winter

Description

Allophylus natalensis is a small evergreen tree with a single stem up to 5 m (16 ft) tall, or it may develop as a bush with multiple, shorter stems. The bark is greyish-brown and may have a smooth texture or develop wrinkles. The smaller branches are greyish-white and downy. The leaves are borne on long petioles and are trifoliate, with three, almost stalkless, elliptical leaflets some 35 to 85 mm (1.4 to 3.3 in) long by 10 to 20 mm (0.4 to 0.8 in) wide. The leaflets are leathery and stiff, glossy green above, and pale green below, with shallowly toothed margins. The small fragrant flowers grow in spike-like racemes in the axils of the leaves, and are followed by abundant red, globular berries, 7 mm (0.3 in) in diameter. Flowering takes place in autumn between March and May and the berries ripen in late winter, between June and August.[1][2]

Distribution and habitat

This tree is endemic to the Eastern Cape Province and KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. Its natural habitat is coastal dune forest and scrub,[2] where it often grows in association with Mimusops caffra, Apodytes dimidiata and Canthium obovatum.[3]

Ecology
Charaxes varanes vologeses

The flowers are pollinated by butterflies and the berries are appreciated by both birds, which disperse the seeds, and humans. The larvae of the pearl emperor butterfly (Charaxes varanes subsp. vologeses) feed on the foliage,[1] and the larvae of Corethrovalva goniosema, a moth in the family Gracillariidae, mine the leaves, as do the larvae of Stigmella allophylica, a moth in the family Nepticulidae.[4]

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References
  1. van Wyk, Braam (2013). Field Guide to Trees of Southern Africa. Penguin Random House South Africa. pp. 3017–3020. ISBN 978-1-77584-104-3.
  2. "Allophylus natalensis (Sond.) De Winter". PlantZAfrica.com. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  3. Moll, E.J. (1972). "A Preliminary Account of the Dune Communities at Pennington Park, Mtunzini, Natal". African Biodiversity & Conservation. 10 (4): a1571. doi:10.4102/abc.v10i4.1571.
  4. "Stigmella allophylica Scoble, 1978". Nepticulidae and Opostegidae of the world. Nepticuloidea.info. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
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