| Scientific Name | Balanites maughamii Sprague | Higher Classification | Dicotyledons | Family | ZYGOPHYLLACEAE | Common Names | Fakkelsaadboom (a), Green Thorn (e), Groendoring (a), Iphambo (z), Lemoendoring (a), Torch Wood (e), Torch-fruit Tree (e), Ugobandlovu (z), Umnulu (z) |
National Status | Status and Criteria | Least Concern | Assessment Date | 2016/06/28 | Assessor(s) | V.L. Williams, D. Raimondo, N.R. Crouch, A.B. Cunningham, C.R. Scott-Shaw, M. Lötter & A.M. Ngwenya | Justification | A large amount of habitat has been lost in northern KwaZulu-Natal and, in conjunction with bark harvesting for the commercial medicinal plant trade and poor wound recovery the species is declining and should be monitored. |
Distribution | Endemism | Not endemic to South Africa | Provincial distribution | KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga | Range | Northern KwaZulu-Natal to Mpumalanga and northwards through Mozambique to Tanzania. |
Habitat and Ecology | Major system | Terrestrial | Major habitats | Forest, Savanna | Description | Open woodland, dry forest, thorn thicket and coastal forest. |
Threats | | The bark is harvested for traditional medicine. Cunningham (1988) classed B. maughamii as 'declining' in KwaZulu-Natal because it was a species that was recently widespread but was likely to become vulnerable and continue to decline if destruction of wild populations continued. Mander (1998) also ranked it thirteenth out of 70 medicinal species most frequently demanded by KwaZulu-Natal consumers. In Mpumalanga, the bark was considered readily available by 29% of vendors (Botha et al. 2001). In Johannesburg, 56% of muthi shops sold the species in 1994 (Williams et al. 2000), and 17% of traders in the Faraday Street market had it in 2001.
Based on the total amount of bark harvested, Twine (2004) ranked B. maughamii 3rd out of 36 tree species harvested in the woodlands of southern Maputaland, KwaZulu-Natal. A detailed population study there revealed that 55% of all individuals with a dbh>10cm had harvest wounds and that the mean amount of bark harvested per individual tree was 1.09 sq m (Twine 2004).
Based on a survey that measured wound recovery and bark regeneration six years after bark was removed for a study on bark thickness related to stem diameter (Williams et al. 2007), most of the 39 wounds re-measured in 2004 showed no signs of recovery (Williams & Geldenhuys 2004). Mean wound closure of 5cm diameter wounds was 14.4% (median = 5.6%). Some wounds, however, showed good lateral edge growth. It appeared that the extent of recovery depended on the position of the wound on the trunk, i.e. in the flute or on the buttress, as well as the direction of the wound in relation to the sun. There was a lot of porcupine damage to the base of the stem, and some of these wounds showed sheet growth if the cambium had been left behind (even in the scars made by Williams in 1998). In general, the trees don't recover well from harvesting even if they are long lived.
Various participants at the at Medicinal Plant Red List Workshop (14-15/01/2008, SANBI, Durban) (V.L. Williams, D. Raimondo, N.R. Crouch, A.B. Cunningham, R. Scott-Shaw, M. Lötter & M. Ngwenya) felt that there was a reasonable amount of suitable habitat left for the species. A.B. Cunningham (pers. comm., 2008) commented that the tree was popular for wood carving and that forests in the Manguzi area may have been impacted because of the demand for carvings in the area. Few people had reported seeing dead trees - mainly because the fluted trunk protects it from severe ring-barking. Harvesters tend to remove sections of the trunk with timber and bark, and the bark is protected at the base of the flutes (V.L. Williams, pers. obs.). In Mpumalanga, the species is generally common and not in any trouble (M. Lötter, pers. comm., 2008).
Habitat loss, however, seems to be the major threat to the species. The Dukuduku forest was the largest of its type in southern Africa, but after a community moved into the area the forest was irreversibly degraded and habitat for B. maughamii was lost. The workshop participants, therefore, felt that the species was Declining primarily due to habitat loss in KwaZulu-Natal. The species would be further impacted on by bark harvesting for the traditional medicine trade. |
Population | Population trend | Decreasing |
Assessment History |
Taxon assessed |
Status and Criteria |
Citation/Red List version | | Balanites maughamii Sprague | Declining | Raimondo et al. (2009) | |
Bibliography | Botha, J., Witkowski, E.T.F. and Shackleton, C.M. 2001. An inventory of medicinal plants traded on the western boundary of the Kruger National Park, South Africa. Koede 44(2):7-46.
Carr, J.D. 1994. The propagation and cultivation of indigenous trees and shrubs on the Highveld. Sandton Nature Conservation Society and Tree Society, Johannesburg.
Cunningham, A.B. 1988. An investigation of the herbal medicine trade in Natal/KwaZulu. Investigational Report No. 29. Institute of Natural Resources, Pietermaritzburg.
Mander, M. 1998. Marketing of indigenous medicinal plants in South Africa: a case study in KwaZulu-Natal. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
Pooley, E. 1998. The complete field guide to trees of Natal, Zululand and Transkei. Natal Flora Publications Trust, Durban.
Raimondo, D., von Staden, L., Foden, W., Victor, J.E., Helme, N.A., Turner, R.C., Kamundi, D.A. and Manyama, P.A. 2009. Red List of South African Plants. Strelitzia 25. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria.
Schmidt, E., Lotter, M. and McCleland, W. 2002. Trees and shrubs of Mpumalanga and Kruger National Park. Jacana, Johannesburg.
Twine, W. 2004. Medicinal bark harvesting and yields in woodlands: a case study from southern Maputaland. In: M.J. Lawes, H.A.C. Eeley, C.M. Shackleton and B.G.S. Geach (eds.), Indigenous Forests and Woodlands in South Africa: Policy, People and Practice (pp. 533-537), University of Natal Press, Pietermaritzburg.
Williams, V.L. 2007. The design of a risk assessment model to determine the impact of the herbal medicine trade on the Witwatersrand on resources of indigenous plant species. Unpublished PhD Thesis, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
Williams, V.L. and Geldenhuys, C.J. 2004. Preliminary results of bark recovery patterns for five species, six years after bark removal. Unpublished report, FRP-DFID R8305 Bark study.
Williams, V.L., Balkwill, K. and Witkowski, E.T.F. 2000. Unravelling the commercial market for medicinal plants and plant parts on the Witwatersrand, South Africa. Economic Botany 54(3):310-327.
Williams, V.L., Witkowski, E.T.F. and Balkwill, K. 2007. Relationship between bark thickness and diameter at breast height for six tree species used medicinally in South Africa. South African Journal of Botany 73(3):449-465.
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Citation | | Williams, V.L., Raimondo, D., Crouch, N.R., Cunningham, A.B., Scott-Shaw, C.R., Lötter, M. & Ngwenya, A.M. 2016. Balanites maughamii Sprague. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2025/05/12 |
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