Combretum imberbe Wawra

imberbe: beardless, referring to the hairless leaves

Medium to large deciduous tree. Bark pale to dark grey, deeply fissured lengthwise with irregular horizontal cracks; young stems with spine-like opposite branchlets. Leaves elliptic to obovate, often on short, spine-like lateral shoots, grey-green above, hairless, but covered in whitish scales beneath. Flowers in slender axillary spikes, creamy-yellow, sweetly scented. Fruits 4-winged, usually less than 1.5 cm, pale yellowish-green even when ripe.

Frequent

From Tanzania to Angola, Botswana, Namibia, and Limpopo and Mpumalanga, South Africa