Searsia lucida, previously known as Rhus lucida, and commonly known as the varnished kuni-rhus (English) or blinktaaibos (Afrikaans).[2][3]
Description
Leaf detail of Searsia lucida.
The tree seldom reaches a height of more than 2 metres and can spread as a shrub over several meters too.
The stems and branches are upright and erect. Young stems are red, shiny, resinous and sticky.
The leaves are shiny ("lucida" = "shiny"), trifoliate, leathery (sub-coriaceous), and a dark to olive green colour (often becoming orange before being shed).
The leaflets' shape is obovate-cuneate, often with small notches in their rounded tips. The leaflets are the same colour above and below, with a prominent central keel and fine lateral veins visible. Damaged leaf-surfaces become pale, almost white.
The leaf's petiole (stalk) is slightly winged, at least along its upper half.
It produces creamy-white flowers from June to October, in small, sparse, terminal inflorescences. The flowers are small, with petals less than 2 mm long.
It bears spherical fruits 4–5 mm in diameter, which are initially green and turn shiny brown as they mature (Oct-Nov). The fruits are eaten by birds.[4][5]
The leaf of Searsia pallens also has a 10mm petiole that is slightly winged, but it has leaflets that are much longer (40mm) than they are wide (10mm). Its leaflets have 4 to 6 lateral veins per centimeter.
Searsia pallens also has glossy fruits that are 4-5mm wide, but its fruits are elliptical-ovoid. Searsia lucida in contrast, has a rounded fruit, and fewer lateral veins on its leaves (only 2 or 3 per centimeter). The leaflets of Searsia lucida are also broader and more oval in shape.[6][7]
