Combretum hereroense

Combretum hereroense, commonly known as the russet bushwillow and in Afrikaans as the kierieklapper (walking stick cracker), is a small tree of up to 5 m (SA Tree List No. 538). It is known in South African bushveld is a variable species but the three earlier subspecies have been abandoned. The straggling growth habit is evident in this photo taken in the Pilanesberg. 

The leaves are elliptic or obovate, opposite or sub-opposite, hairy on the lower surface with indented net-veining on the upper one. The tree has been described as tardily deciduous, the old leaves lingering among the new ones in spring.

Russet, the colour of the fruit used in the common name is fitting, an apt description of the fruit colour, somewhat dark brown with a red to orange tinge.

The species distribution in South Africa is in the provinces north of the Vaal River and the northeast of KwaZulu-Natal, also in several countries to the north as far as Central and West Africa.

The habitat of the South African subspecies is bushveld and savannah, dense or sparsely vegetated, the trees often growing in sandy soil. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century, although no current assessment by SANBI was available at the time of writing (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Carr, 1988; Wikipedia; iNaturalist; https://pza.sanbi.org).