river nuxia

Nuxia oppositifolia is a shrub or small tree that grows 1–15 metres (3.3–49.2 ft). It is often gnarled, and sometimes straggling. The trunk has reddish-brown bark, and is 10–60 centimetres (3.9–23.6 in) in diameter. When dry, the leaves are leathery or subleathery. The leaves are narrowly elliptical. The leaves are 3–13 centimetres (1.2–5.1 in) long, and 0.4–3 centimetres (0.16–1.18 in) wide. The leaves are arranged oppositely, or sometimes alternately. The leaves have 2–12 millimetres (0.079–0.472 in) long stems. The flowers are white, creamy, or lilac in colour, and slightly fragrant. They grow alone, or in groups of up to three. The inflorescence is 1.5–7 centimetres (0.59–2.76 in) long, and 2–8 centimetres (0.79–3.15 in) wide. The calyx is green, 4–5 millimetres (0.16–0.20 in) long, and has cleanly divided lobes. The seeds are 0.5–0.8 millimetres (0.020–0.031 in) long, and 0.15–0.2 millimetres (0.0059–0.0079 in) wide.

Nuxia oppositifolia is native to the seasonally dry tropical biome of Africa, Madagascar, and the south-west Arabian Peninsula. It is present in Angola, Djibouti, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Within South Africa, it is present in the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga. The species grows in sub-tropical forests, near streams and rivers, in gorges and valleys, and among rocks and reeds. Its estimated extent of occurrence is 12,093,063.67 square kilometres (4,669,157.99 sq mi). It grows at altitudes of 50–1,325 metres (164–4,347 ft).