Searsia undulata

Searsia undulata, the Namaqua kuni bush, is a much-branched shrub or small tree reaching about 3 m in height (SA Tree List No. 389).

The bark is grey to brown and smooth to rough. Younger branches are dark brown and spreading.

The species is distributed in a broad band up the west coast from the Western Cape through the Northern Cape into the south of Namibia. The habitat is arid rocky slopes. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century.

The plant is closely related to S. burchellii that differs in having shorter central leaflets, the two species distributions largely overlapping. It is also similar to S. pallens that has leaflet margins rolled under and darker, more compressed fruits.

S. undulata used to feature in traditional medicine in the treatment of chest colds and the aftermath of childbirth (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Van Wyk and Van Wyk, 1997; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).