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Project Noah Nature School
Adenium multiflorum
This is a deciduous succulent shrub which resembles a miniature baobab in shape. The stems come from a large tuberous underground rootstock which enables it to survive longer periods without water. The plants have no flowers or leaves for most of the year and the leaves are shed before the plant flowers in the winter (May-September). The bark is shiny grey to brown, with poisonous watery latex which is used in preparing arrow and fish poison. The leaves and flowers are poisonous to goats and cattle, but the plants are sometimes heavily browsed. The leaves are up to 100 mm long, shiny green above and pale below, usually much broader towards the tip, and are carried in clusters at the growing tips of the branches. The flowers are of varied colors, usually with pointed white lobes, crinkly red margins and red stripes in the throat. Plants with pure white flowers are occasionally found. It is propagated through airborne seeds.
The natural distribution range extends from southeastern Zambia, through Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, to Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the northern parts of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, and Swaziland. They are usually found in sandy soil or in alluvium in rocky habitats, dry woodlands, open grasslands, and on brackish flats.
It is considered threatened in Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe, being collected for horticultural and medicinal purposes. This plant was in the garden of a private game reserve bordering Kruger National Park. Another source: http://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/speciesda...
Spotted on Jun 29, 2009
Submitted on Feb 4, 2012
