Galpinia transvaalica bearing many fruit clusters

Galpinia transvaalica, commonly the wild pride-of-India or Transvaal privet and in Afrikaans knoppieblaar (little knob leaf) or Transvaalliguster (Transvaal privet), is a small to medium-sized, evergreen tree reaching heights from 3 m to 8 m (SA Tree List No. 523). A much-branched tree with crooked stems, the bark is dark to pale grey, initially smooth, later rough and cracking into blocks.

The leaves are simple, opposite and elliptic or oblong-obovate. The leaf apex twists and tapers to a pointed tip, is rounded or notched. Leaf margins are entire and very wavy. Leaf colour is dark green, the leaves shiny. There is a conspicuous gland where the midrib ends, short of the leaf tip. Young leaves are coppery or red.

The species distribution is coastal in northern KwaZulu-Natal, continuing into the Mpumalanga and Limpopo Lowveld. A discrete, smaller distribution occurs in north-western Gauteng into North West. The plant also occurs in Swaziland, Mozambique and the south of Zimbabwe.

It grows in bushveld or scrub in rocky places at medium to low elevations. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century.

The wood is pale brown, fairly heavy and fine-grained. It is suitable for turning on a lathe (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Schmidt, et al, 2002; Van Wyk and Van Wyk, 1997; http://redlist.sanbi.org).