Ziziphus mucronata subsp. mucronata leafless

Ziziphus mucronata subsp. mucronata is a deciduous tree shedding its leaves in late winter when herbivores are often already challenged to find food. Cattle and game, particularly impala, will visit the trees during the fall to pick up the recently shed golden yellow leaves, often preferable to the dry grass on offer by then.

The characteristic zigzag shape of (many of) the upper branchlets is clearly visible when the leaves are gone as in the photo. The wisdom of the ancestors has it that these zigzags remind us of life not always being straightforward. The spine pairs, one facing backward (where we come from) and one forward (where we are going), demand awareness of both, beyond the present. Branches are used in rituals to return the spirits of the dead in certain traditional communities.

The Afrikaans common name of blinkblaar-wag-‘n-bietjie (shiny leaf wait a while) relates to these hard and strong spines, suggesting that the passer-by will be detained for a while by the hooks, while having pain inflicted by the straight ones.

While the leaves are gone from the tree in picture, the paired spines, one hooked, one straight, spaced along the branches at the leaf nodes are still present, so beware (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Pooley, 1993; www.plantzafrica.com).