Diospyros lycioides subsp. sericea

Diospyros lycioides subsp. sericea, the eastern bluebush is a hairy leaf subspecies of the bluebush shrub or small tree complex of plants (SA Tree List No. 605.1). The name sericea refers to the soft hairs that occur on both leaf surfaces. The midribs of the leaves are distinctly raised on the lower surfaces. This feature can be observed on the specimen photographed in the Karoo south of Colesberg. The leaf venation is not indented on the upper surface.

This subspecies of D. lycioides is common in Zimbabwe, but also occurs in the east of South Africa in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Schmidt, et al, 2002).