Spines grown from small lateral branches occur on Dalbergia melanoxylon stems. In Afrikaans one of the common names for zebrawood is driedoringebbehout (three thorn ebony wood), referring to these spiny branchlets (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Schmidt, et al, 2002; Grant and Thomas, 2001; iSpot; http://redlist.sanbi.org).