Balanites maughamii, torchwood

The leafy tree in the foreground is Balanites maughamii, torchwood, green-thorn or in Afrikaans groendoringboom (green thorn tree). This is the tree of which Jeremy Taylor used to sing, where the guy sat in its shade, dreaming of a farm where one could work with hands in ones trouser pockets and "gedagtes hoog in die takke" (thoughts up high in the branches).

The leafless tree of a different species in the background discloses that it is winter. Being named for having green leaves is unremarkable in summer. In the Lowveld winter there are, however, not many kinds that hold on to them for longer in contrast to the norm. This does not mean that the torchwood or green-thorn is evergreen. It is often deciduous, sometimes called semi-deciduous, the leafless season being comparatively late and short.

Elephants will eat the young shoots while several mammals eat the fruit. People can also do so safely, although these fruits kill snails, tadpoles and fish. Particularly the molluscicide substance in the fruit killing bilharzia snails has been thought to hold a useful solution that might be utilised in the future.

The dry kernels of the ripe fruit are sometimes burned as torches, yielding the torchwood common name. The trees bark is harvested for traditional medicinal use (Schmidt, et al, 2002; Coates Palgrave, 2002; Grant and Thomas, 2001; Pooley, 1993).