Deinbollia oblongifolia
Encyclopedia
Deinbollia oblongifolia is a shrub or small tree in the family Sapindaceae
. It is commonly known as the Dune Soap-berry and is found in coastal vegetation from the Eastern Cape
of South Africa
, through KwaZulu-Natal
to southern Mozambique
and Swaziland
.
) because of the similar shaped compound leaves, however the Dune Soap-berry has paler green slightly matt
leaves compared to the Forest Mahogany, which has a darker green leaf that is slightly more glossy. The leaves of the Dune Soap-berry are also hard textured (when mature) and not held flat as in Trichilia dregeana.
in water and used as soap (hence the name "soap-berry"). The roots are used in traditional Zulu medicine for stomach complaints. These shrubs are also valuable garden plants, especially in wildlife gardens.
s, butterflie
s, bee
s, wasp
s, ant
s and beetle
s. The leaves are fed on by the larvae of several butterflies, including; Gold-banded Forester (Euphaedra neophron
), Forest Queen (Euxanthe wakefieldi
) and the Purple-brown Hairstreak (Hypolycaena philippus
). Various Deudorix
butterfly species' larvae also feed on these trees, including the larvae of the Black-and-orange Playboy (Deudorix dariaves
) and the Apricot Playboy (Deudorix dinochares
) which both eat the fruits of Deinbollia oblongifolia. The larvae of the African Peach Moth (Egybolis vaillantina
) also feed on the leaves, and the fruit are also eaten by birds (including the Sombre Greenbul (Andropadus importunus)) and monkeys. Charaxes
butterflies feed on the fermenting fruits, and the Green-veined Charaxes (Charaxes candiope
), Pearl Charaxes (Charaxes
), Satyr Charaxes (Charaxes ethalion
), Forest-king Charaxes (Charaxes xiphares
), White-barred Charaxes (Charaxes brutus
) and the Natal Tree Nymph (Sevenia natalensis
) have all been observed feeding on the sap
of Deinbollia oblongifolia. Furthermore these trees are browsed by game animals.
Sapindaceae
Sapindaceae, also known as the soapberry family, is a family of flowering plants in the order Sapindales. There are about 140-150 genera with 1400-2000 species, including maple, horse chestnut and lychee....
. It is commonly known as the Dune Soap-berry and is found in coastal vegetation from the Eastern Cape
Eastern Cape
The Eastern Cape is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are Port Elizabeth and East London. It was formed in 1994 out of the "independent" Xhosa homelands of Transkei and Ciskei, together with the eastern portion of the Cape Province...
of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, through KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....
to southern Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
and Swaziland
Swaziland
Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...
.
Description
These plants can grow up to 9 m tall. The stem often branches low down and the bark is grey-brown in colour. The leaves are compound, up to 500 mm long and clustered at the ends of the branches. The flowers are white or cream in colour, and produced on branched flowering heads at the ends of the branches. The fruit are rounded; green and velvety when young to yellow and smooth when ripe. The Dune Soap-berry may be confused with a young Forest Mahogany (Trichilia dregeanaTrichilia dregeana
Trichilia dregeana is a tree in the family Meliaceae. It is commonly known as the Forest Mahogany. These trees are found in forest areas from the Eastern Cape of South Africa to Tropical Africa.- References :...
) because of the similar shaped compound leaves, however the Dune Soap-berry has paler green slightly matt
Matt
Matt may refer to:*In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss *Matt, Switzerland, a municipality*Matt , people with the given name Matt or Matthew, meaning "gift from god"...
leaves compared to the Forest Mahogany, which has a darker green leaf that is slightly more glossy. The leaves of the Dune Soap-berry are also hard textured (when mature) and not held flat as in Trichilia dregeana.
Uses
The fruit are eaten by people. The leaves can be eaten as spinach, and the seeds can be latheredLather
Lather may refer to:*Foam, a substance formed by gas bubbles trapped in a liquid or solid*Läther , a Frank Zappa album*Lather , a song by Jefferson Airplane*Lather, a worker who installs the strips used in lath and plaster wall construction...
in water and used as soap (hence the name "soap-berry"). The roots are used in traditional Zulu medicine for stomach complaints. These shrubs are also valuable garden plants, especially in wildlife gardens.
Ecological Significance
The flowers attract hordes of insects including; mothMoth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
s, butterflie
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
s, bee
Bee
Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...
s, wasp
Wasp
The term wasp is typically defined as any insect of the order Hymenoptera and suborder Apocrita that is neither a bee nor an ant. Almost every pest insect species has at least one wasp species that preys upon it or parasitizes it, making wasps critically important in natural control of their...
s, ant
Ant
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
s and beetle
Beetle
Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...
s. The leaves are fed on by the larvae of several butterflies, including; Gold-banded Forester (Euphaedra neophron
Euphaedra neophron
The Gold Banded Forester is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family. It is found in eastern and southern Africa.The wingspan is 55-65 mm for males and 60-78 mm for females...
), Forest Queen (Euxanthe wakefieldi
Euxanthe wakefieldi
The Forest Queen is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family. It is found in South Africa, from KwaZulu-Natal to Swaziland and the north-eastern Limpopo Province, north into eastern Africa....
) and the Purple-brown Hairstreak (Hypolycaena philippus
Hypolycaena philippus
The Purple-brown Hairstreak or Commona Hairstreak is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found in sub-Saharan Africa.The wingspan is 22–28 mm for males and 23.5–31 mm for females...
). Various Deudorix
Deudorix
Deudorix is a large genus of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae.-Species:*Deudorix affinis *Deudorix antalus *Deudorix apayao Schröder & Treadaway, 1983*Deudorix badhami Carcasson, 1961...
butterfly species' larvae also feed on these trees, including the larvae of the Black-and-orange Playboy (Deudorix dariaves
Deudorix dariaves
The Black-and-Orange Playboy is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found from South Africa to Mozambique and to the coast of Kenya. In South Africa it is found along the coast of KwaZulu-Natal and north along the escarpment foothill forests to Mpumalanga and the Limpopo Province.The...
) and the Apricot Playboy (Deudorix dinochares
Deudorix dinochares
The Apricot Playboy is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found in South Africa, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, eastern Africa and south-west Arabia. In South Africa it is found from northern KwaZulu-Natal to Swaziland, Mpumalanga, the Limpopo Province, the North West Province and Gauteng.The...
) which both eat the fruits of Deinbollia oblongifolia. The larvae of the African Peach Moth (Egybolis vaillantina
Egybolis vaillantina
The African Peach Moth is a moth of the Noctuidae family. It is found in the Afrotropic ecozone.The wingspan is about 60 mm. The moths are day-active.The larvae feed on peach and Sapindus species....
) also feed on the leaves, and the fruit are also eaten by birds (including the Sombre Greenbul (Andropadus importunus)) and monkeys. Charaxes
Charaxes
Charaxes has several meanings:*Charaxes, the genus of pasha and radjah butterflies*The name taken by the comic book villain Killer Moth after his transformation into an actual killer moth-like creature....
butterflies feed on the fermenting fruits, and the Green-veined Charaxes (Charaxes candiope
Charaxes candiope
The Green-veined Emperor or Green-veined Charaxes is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found Subsaharan Africa....
), Pearl Charaxes (Charaxes
Charaxes
Charaxes has several meanings:*Charaxes, the genus of pasha and radjah butterflies*The name taken by the comic book villain Killer Moth after his transformation into an actual killer moth-like creature....
), Satyr Charaxes (Charaxes ethalion
Charaxes ethalion
The Satyr Emperor or Satyr Charaxes is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in southern Africa.The wingspan is 45–55 mm in males and 50–63 mm in females....
), Forest-king Charaxes (Charaxes xiphares
Charaxes xiphares
The Forest King Emperor or Forest King Charaxes is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found southern Africa.The wingspan is 65–80 mm in males and 70–95 mm in females....
), White-barred Charaxes (Charaxes brutus
Charaxes brutus
The White-barred Emperor or White-barred Charaxes is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family. It is found in Africa ....
) and the Natal Tree Nymph (Sevenia natalensis
Sevenia natalensis
The Natal Tree Nymph is a butterfly in the Nymphalidae family found in southeastern Africa.Wingspan: 40–48 mm.Flight period year-round, peaking between February and May....
) have all been observed feeding on the sap
Sap
Sap may refer to:* Plant sap, the fluid transported in xylem cells or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant* Sap , a village in the Dunajská Streda District of Slovakia...
of Deinbollia oblongifolia. Furthermore these trees are browsed by game animals.
Gallery
See also
- KwaZulu-Natal Dune ForestKwaZulu-Natal Dune ForestKwaZulu-Natal Dune Forest is a subtropical forest type that was once found almost continuously along the coastal dunes of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. This vegetation type develops in sheltered areas behind the littoral zone, where with some protection from the salt wind it may develop with...
- KwaZulu-Natal Coastal Lowland ForestKwaZulu-Natal Coastal Lowland ForestKwaZulu-Natal Coastal Lowland Forest is a subtropical forest type that was once found almost continuously along the low-lying coastal areas of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa...
- Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany HotspotMaputaland-Pondoland-Albany HotspotThe Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Hotspot is situated in south eastern Africa below the Great Escarpment. The area stretches from the Albany Centre of Plant Endemism in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, through the Pondoland Centre of Plant Endemism and KwaZulu-Natal Province, the eastern...