Region Southern Africa, Mozambique, Swaziland, South Africa, Mozambique.
Habitat: hot dry localities; well drained soils; usually gregarious on rocky hillsides and along seasonal watercourses; often forming dense shrub thickets; mixed deciduous woodland; elevations from 100 - 900 metres
BotanyTree: dioecious; 30 metres tall.
Stem: straight, cylindrical; branches for up to 15 metres; 60 - 90cm in diameter; heartwood light or medium brown with a reddish tint, with darker markings, not clearly demarcated from the yellowish white sapwood, texture is very fine and even, grain straight to irregular and wavy, somewhat lustrous, highly resistant to fungi and termites, seasons slowly, requires careful air-drying, saw and machine without particular difficulty, good finish, glues well.
Use: valuable timber tree for parquet flooring, heavy construction, railroad crossties, turnery, mine props.