English: Currant Resin Tree.
Synonym: Heeria reticulata.
Genus: 40 species.
Region: tropical Africa, Senegal, Somalia, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Yemen.
Habitat: tropical to subtropical; wooded grassland, open forest, drier forest, deciduous forest in areas of higher rainfall, often on scarps, denuded soils and rocky slopes; from sea level to elevations of 2200 metres; sensitive to fires.
Content: 6-pentadecylsalicylic acid.
Use: medicinal; wood for cabinet work, carving, poles, firewood, good quality charcoal, gunpowder; edible fruit; fruit to scent hair.
BotanyShrub to small to medium-sized tree; dioecious; up to 15 metres tall.
Stem: much-branched; with milky sap; wood red, hard, tough, durable, easy to work, resistant to termites.
Fruit: ellipsoid, compressed drupe; 6 to 8 mm, by 8 to 11 mm; red, turning black and shiny when ripe.