Commiphora africana
| Commiphora africana | |
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| Commiphora africana | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Sapindales |
| Family: | Burseraceae |
| Genus: | Commiphora |
| Species: | C. africana |
| Binomial name | |
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Commiphora africana (A.Rich.) Endl. |
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| Synonyms | |
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Commiphora africana (A.Rich.) Endl., commonly called African myrrh, is a small deciduous tree belonging to the Burseraceae, a family akin to the Anacardiaceae, occurring widely over sub-Saharan Africa in Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. On sandy soils this species sometimes forms pure stands, deserving consideration as a plant community or association.
Closely related to C. glandulosa, C. africana is usually some 5m tall, its branchlets often ending in spines. Its bark is grey-green, peeling to reveal a shiny surface, red when damaged, and then exuding bdellion, a clear, edible, aromatic gum ('Commiphora'='gum-bearing'). The leaves are trifoliate with a large terminal leaflet and two small side leaflets, bluntly toothed, and, as with most Commiphoras, pleasantly aromatic when crushed. Fruits are reddish, and about 6–8 mm across, splitting when ripe to reveal a hard, black seed held by a pseudo-aril or mericarp with four red fingers, resembling the clasps holding a jewel in a brooch or ring setting. The tree's fruits are edible while the succulent, sweet roots are often chewed by humans, and the new leaves are sought after by camels and goats, particularly at the beginning of the dry season.
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