Rhus retinorrhoea (Bekele-Tesemma, 2007)
| Rhus retinorrhoea (Bekele-Tesemma, 2007) |
Rhus retinorrhoea Anacardiaceae Indigenous
Common names
- Amargna: Tilem
- Oromugna: Tadessa
- Somaligna: Sisai
- Tigrigna: Tekalo, Vralo
Ecology
Found also in Sudan, Somalia and Arabia, this shrub occurs in evergreen bushland on dry and rocky slopes in Tigray, Welo, Shewa, and Harerge regions. It performs well in Dry and Moist Weyna Dega and Dega agroclimatic zones, 1,400–2,700 m.
Uses
Firewood, farm tools, walking sticks, local beds (leaves).
Description
A thin shrub or small tree 2–6 m, the slender red‑brown twigs hanging down. Young shoots shiny.
- LEAVES: Long, thin and pointed, over 4 times longer than broad, to 20 cm, widest below the centre, edge finely curly, shiny green above, paler below, oily and sticking together if pressed, usually remaining green as they dry.
- FLOWERS: Small, male and female, in loose branched heads, stalks harmless.
- FRUIT: Round or bean‑shaped, less than 5 mm, shiny pale brown, slightly pink, soon falling.
Propagation
Seedlings. Germinates well.
Seed
- Treatment: No need of seed treatment.
- Storage: Stores well.
Management
It is normally used for farm implement stick as hoe handles. Therefore, farming it to bend to the required shape is necessary at young age. Pruning long and slendering stems at young age will make good quality sticks.
Remarks
The leaves stick together if they are piled on top of each other and pressed down forming local mattress usually used on matt of sticks, ‘Qot’ in Amharic.
