Silver Cluster Leaf Terminalia sericea

• It is the dominant tree on the sandy soils of Maputuland.
• The bark is dark grey or brownish in colour and deeply fissured vertically.
• The flowers are small creamy to yellow, found on small spikes.
• The fruit is a single winged pod, which grow in clusters on the tree, starting out with a pinkish colour, changing to dark brown as they dry out.
• Among African tribes this tree has a wide variety of uses.
• The roots have a very bitter taste but are still used for medicinal purposes.
• The outer layer of the root is prepared into a treatment for diarrhoea and a fermentation of the root is used in treating pneumonia.
• The Tswana people for glazing their pots use the soft silver hairs found on the leaves.
• To ensure good crops at harvesting and planting a branch of this tree is pushed into the floor of a shrine in an attempt to show respect to the ancestors.
• It is also believed that if one of these trees is cut down it will cause a hailstorm.
• A glycoside known as nerifolin has been in parts of the tree. This chemical affects the heart rate, having medicinal value.
• Parts of the tree are also used to treat respiratory complaints. Cattle and game browse the leaves.
• The wood is heavy, hard and termite resistant and is used for hut building and fence posts and furniture.