Boscia foetida subsp. rehmanniana in a termite mound

Boscia foetida subsp. rehmanniana is usually a single-stemmed small tree or large shrub with pale brown to grey bark. The leaves are small and clustered on dwarf branchlets. The flowers are small, pale green and occur in clusters. Flowering happens at the end of winter. The fruit is spherical, 1 cm in diameter, yellowish and velvety.

This one was found growing on, or rather in a large termite mound near the Steelpoort River, where it will in a few years be submerged in the De Hoop Dam, currently under construction there. Further north these mounds may reach a height of 9 m in some wooded parts of tropical Africa. In savannah veld it is more likely to reach 3 m. The shape of the mound may be conical or rounded in a dome-shape, as well as a variety of other shapes, depending on the termite species determining the architecture.

Trees protect themselves against these builders and maintain the ecological balance by secreting antifeedant chemicals such as oils, resins and other substances into their woody cell walls (Wikipedia; Coates Palgrave, 2002).