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White Milkwood
Afrikaans name: Witmelkhout
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White Milkwood tree
Photo © Steven Herbert
Sideroxylon inerme
The White Milkwood tree is found in coastal woodlands, and a bit further inland, all the way from Cape Town, along the eastern region of South Africa, to Limpopo. It is a small tree with a maximum height of about 10 metres. It is multi-stemmed and very bushy. The tree gives off a milky latex substance when damaged. The bark varies in colour from grey-brown to black. It often cracks into rectangular block shapes. The leaves are oval in shape and are brighter on top than underneath. Clusters of tiny greenish-white flowers appear in summer and autumn. The fruit is berry-shaped and starts off green turning purple or blackish in colour when ripe. The fruit is eaten by bats and birds. The wood of the White Milkwood is easily worked and is used for a variety of things including building boats.
References and further reading
Wildlife of the Cape Peninsula - Author: Duncan Butchart - Published: 2001 - Page: 102What Tree is That? - Author: Hazel Stokes - Published: 1967 - Page: 15
Whats that Tree? - Author: Eugene Moll - Published: 2011 - Page: 132
The Overberg Explorer - 2nd edition - Author: Ann & Mike Scott - Published: 2001 - Page: 28
Trees of Southern Africa - 3rd edition - Author: Keith Coates Palgrave - Published: 2002 - Page: 871
Tsitsikama Trees - Author: Prof. HB Rycroft - Published: 1980 - Page: 88
The Coastal Guide of South Africa - Author: Jacana Media - Published: 2007 - Page: 108
The Complete Field Guide to Trees of Natal, Zululand and Transkei - Author: Elsa Pooley - Published: 1994 - Page: 388
Two Oceans - Author: Branch, Griffiths, Branch and Beckley - Published: 2010 - Page: 436
Sappi Tree Spotting: KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape - 2nd edition - Author: Val Thomas and Rina Grant - Published: 2004 - Page: 236
SA Wild Flower Guide No 5 - Stellenbosch to Hermanus - 2nd edition - Author: Anne Bean & Amida Johns - Published: 2005 - Page: 258
SA Wild Flower Guide No 8 - Southern Overberg - Author: P Mustart, R Cowling & J Albertyn - Published: 2003 - Page: 202
SA Wild Flower Guide No 2 - Outeniqua, Tsitsikamma and Eastern Little Karoo - Author: Audrey Moriarty - Published: 1982 - Page: 148
SA Wild Flower Guide No 12 - Table Mountain National Park - Author: T Trinder-Smith, M Maytham Kidd & F Anderson - Published: 2006 - Page: 226
SA Wild Flower Guide No 3 - Cape Peninsula - Author: Mary Maytham Kidd - Published: 1982 - Page: 60
Pocket Guide - Trees of Southern Africa - Author: Piet van Wyk - Published: 2013 - Page: 109
Photographic Guide to Trees of Southern Africa - Author: B, P, and B-E van Wyk - Published: 2000 - Page: 288
Piet van Wyks Field Guide to the Trees of the Kruger National Park - 1st edition - Author: Piet van Wyk - Published: 1988 - Page: 187
Plants of the Baviaanskloof - Author: D Euston-Brown & M Kruger - Published: 2023 - Page: 466
Garden Birds in South Africa - Author: Duncan Butchart - Published: 2017 - Page: 166
Illustrated Guide to the Game Parks and Nature Reserves of SA - 2nd edn - Author: Readers Digest - Published: 1991 - Page: 391
Healing Trees & Plants of the Lowveld - Author: Dumes, Loon and Bester - Published: 2009 - Page: 60
Field Guide to the Trees of the Kruger National Park - 5th edition - Author: Piet van Wyk - Published: 2008 - Page: 187
A Field Guide to the Trees of Southern Africa - Revised - Author: E. Palmer - Published: 1983 - Page: 277
Eastern Cape Veld Flowers - 2nd edition - Author: Eily Gledhill - Published: 1981 - Page: 183
Everyones Guide to Trees of South Africa - Author: Keith, Paul and Meg Coates Palgrave - Published: 1989 - Page: 89
Ecoguide - Fynbos - Author: Colin Paterson-Jones and John Manning - Published: 2007 - Page: 166
A Field Guide to the Eastern Cape Coast - Author: R. Lubke, F. Gess & M. Bruton - Published: 1988 - Page: 228
A Field Guide to the Trees of Southern Africa - 1st edition - Author: E. Palmer - Published: 1977 - Page: 251
For more info: SANBI
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