Commiphora woodii

Commiphora woodii, commonly the forest corkwood and in Afrikaans the boskanniedood (bush cannot die), is a medium-sized to large tree, the biggest of the commiphoras, reaching heights up to 15 m (SA Tree List No. 291).

The main stem is usually straight, not so in this Kirstenbosch tree growing far from its natural home. The bark is greenish grey with white mottling, resembling some fig trees. It does not peel but occasional flaking occurs. Branchlets are hairless and there are no spines.

The species distribution is in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal as well as elsewhere in Africa.

The habitat is coastal to mist-belt forests, valley bushveld and thornveld. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Pooley, 1993; http://redlist.sanbi.org).