Ochna pulchra stem

An Ochna pulchra stem is often colourful and shapely, reminiscent of some kinds of Eucalyptus tree bark. Not called peeling bark or peeling plane for nothing, mature stems peel to reveal patches of cream to white underbark as in the photo. The lowest stem parts of mature trees become rough, scaly and flaking.

The young twigs are free of lenticels, the branches brittle, cause of the Afrikaans common name of lekkerbreek (breaks nicely). The stem makes O. pulchra an easy tree to identify. 

Broken twigs covered in dead leaves displaying two colours still hang from the tree in picture (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Schmidt, et al, 2002).