Searsia leptodictya leaves

Searsia leptodictya, the rock karee, is a small tree of up to 4 m in height (SA Tree List No. 387). The bark is dark brown and rough.

The trifoliolate leaflets are lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate. The leaf colour varies between bright or fresh green to dull green. Leaf margins are shallowly toothed or scalloped.

Flowers are small and pale yellow, forming large sprays in summer, autumn or winter, depending on the region where they grow. The fruits are flattened and asymmetric, yellowish-brown to orange.

The species grows in the central and northern parts of South Africa in the Free State and northern provinces, as well as in several neighbouring countries.

It grows well in widely varying conditions including open woodland and bushveld. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century (Coates Palgrave, 2002).