Mopane Tree

Setswana Name:  Mophane
 
Botanical Name: 

Colophospermum mopane

 
Family:

Pod-bearing Family (Fabaceae)

 
The mopane can be a shrub or a tall tree up to 30 m in the northern part of its range, depending on soil conditions and water availability. It has a tall, narrow crown. The compound leaves are divided in two so that the leaflets resemble butterfly wings or a camel's foot. There is a tiny point at the join of the two leaflets which is the remnant of a third, terminal leaflet. Crushed leaves have a turpentine odour. It is a deciduous (sometimes semi-deciduous) tree with a kaleidoscope of autumn and spring colours. Sprays of small, green flowers appear in December and January
 
These flowers are followed by pods which ripen between April and June and are flat and somewhat kidney-shaped. They change from green to light, finely speckled brown. The flat seeds inside are sticky from resin exuded by glands which cover them. The strange appearance of the seeds is from the convolutions in their surface. The greyish brown bark is very deeply fissured in vertical fissures. It has a rough, ropy appearance and is very distinctive.
 
Game animals, particularly elephants, enjoy the protein-rich leaves and pods. Elephant pressure may be part of the reason for the stunted appearance of some areas of mopane scrub. Hole-nesting birds such as hornbills favour mopane woodlands as they offer many nesting sites
 
In summer the leaves are fed on by swarms of fat, dark greyish mopane worms, which can reach almost 10 cm long. These are rich in protein and are eaten by people, either roasted or dried. The sale of dried mopane worms is an important income source for many people, creating a local economy.

Other traditional uses of the mopane tree include the making of houses and kraal fences, twigs chewed as tooth brushes, the bark is used to make twine and for tanning, and the leaves used for healing wounds. The hard, reddish heartwood timber was used to make railway sleepers and as props for mining activities. A heavy timber and difficult to work because of its hardness but this also makes it termite resistant, therefore a popular choice for fence posts and flooring.
The Gonometa moth caterpillar spins silken cocoons which are harvested as wild silk to make cloth.
 

The Mopane tree is the most common and widespread of all species occurring in the Okavango Delta and Moremi. The stretch known as Mopane tongue, which covers almost all of dry-land Moremi, consists predominantly of Mopane. The abundance of this species is ascribed to the fact that it is more tolerant of poorly-drained soils than other trees.