red bushwillow

This is a semi-deciduous tree growing up to 10 meters tall, or sometimes a shrub remaining shorter. It has rough gray-black bark with fissures, and the smaller branches may be woolly in texture. The oppositely arranged leaves are up to 11 to 13 centimeters long. They are hairless or hairy. The tip of the leaf tapers abruptly to a twisted point. The foliage turns reddish or golden in the fall. The spike inflorescences emerge between the leaves and are up to 7 centimeters long. They bear yellow or green flowers with tiny sepals and petals, and with style and stamens about half a centimeter long. The flowers have a strong scent. The reddish, winged fruit is 2 or 3 centimeters long.

It occurs in South Africa, Eswatini, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, southern Angola, Zambia, Malawi, southeastern DRC, Tanzania and southern Kenya. This tree occurs in various ecosystems in southern Africa. It is the dominant tree on the savanna in many areas, including regions characterized as lowveld and mopane savanna. It grows alongside other woody vegetation such as common hook thorn (Acacia afra), sicklebush (Dichrostachys cinerea), large sourplum (Ximenia afra), livelong (Lannea discolor), white seringa (Kirkia acuminata), and marula (Sclerocarya afra).