Dombeya rotundifolia

Dombeya rotundifolia, the dikbas or "South African wild pear" (it is not related to pear trees), is a species of small deciduous tree with dark grey to blackish deeply fissured bark, found in Southern Africa and northwards to central and eastern tropical Africa. Formerly placed in the Sterculiaceae, that artificial group has now been abandoned by most authors and the plants are part of an enlarged Malvaceae. The species was first described as Xeropetalum rotundifolium by Christian Ferdinand Friedrich Hochstetter in 1844. In 1851 Jules Émile Planchon placed the species in genus Dombeya as D. rotundifolia.

Description

A softy hairy tree. It grows up to 9 m tall. It has many branches and loses its leaves during the year. The leaves are large, leathery and rounded with a heart shaped base. The flowers are pink or white and in branched clusters. The flowers usually occur when the tree is without leaves. The fruit are small and dark. They are the size of an olive.

Edible Uses

The fruit is eaten raw and has a pleasant acid taste. The flowers are cooked and eaten as a side-dish, sometimes with pumpkin leaves added.

Traditional Uses

The fruit are eaten raw. They have a pleasant acid taste. The flowers are cooked and eaten as a side-dish to which pumpkin leaves are sometimes added.

Medicinal Uses

No medicinal uses mentioned in available data.

Distribution

A tropical plant. It grows in grassland in Malawi at 1,500 m altitude. It can grow between 60-2,135 m above sea level. It grows in hot arid places. It can tolerate frost. It often grows over limestone parent material. It can tolerate drought. It can re-grow after fire. It can grow in arid places. Brisbane Botanical Gardens.

Where It Grows

Africa, Australia, Botswana, Central Africa, Congo, East Africa, Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Southern Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

Cultivation

It is easily grown from seeds. Seeds should be sown when fresh and seedlings can be transplanted. It can also be grown from cuttings.

Propagation

Seed - sow in deep seed trays in a semi-shaded position, The seed usually germinates within 3 weeks. Prick out the seedlings into individual containers once the first true leaves have formed and grow on in light shade. Cuttings of semi-ripe wood, preferably with some bottom heat to encourage rooting.

Other Uses

The bark from young shoots is made into rope. The wood is bluish grey; the grain is interlocked; the texture fine. The wood is heavy, strong, tough and durable. It has limited potential as a general purpose timber, however, because the pieces available are usually too small and twisted. The wood and the strong but flexible branches are made into furniture, poles, mine props, bows, tool handles and ornaments. The wood can be used for fuel. The flowers are visited by bees that use the nectar to produce pale amber-coloured honey.

Production

It is fast growing,

Notes

Some Botanists put the Dombeya in the Byttneriaceae and the Sterculiaceae.

Synonyms

Also Known As

Chitoque, Chiwalika, Cinga, Curo, Molobare, Muchol'e mupundururo, Mukondotowa, Mupunduru, Musiyasitu, Naduwa, Nchiu, Nhiz Nhliziyo, Nhliziyo, Nhliziyonkhulu, Umbikanyaka, Umukore, Umuwane, Umwane, Umwuwane, Xitou:'e

References (17)

• East African Herbarium records, 1981,
• Facciola, S., 1998, Cornucopia 2: a Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, p 239
• Fowler, D. G., 2007, Zambian Plants: Their Vernacular Names and Uses. Kew. p 45
• Fox, F. W. & Young, M. E. N., 1982, Food from the Veld. Delta Books. p 348
• https://growwild.co.za Edible Indigenous plants

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