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<big>''[[Brachystegia spiciformis]]'' Benth.</big>

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{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Brachystegia spiciformis'' (PROTA)}}

:Protologue: Trans. Linn. Soc. London 25: 312 (1866).

In traditional charcoal making in Tanzania, the average yield of marketable charcoal from ''Brachystegia spiciformis'' wood with 40–50% moisture content was about 90 kg per m³. The foliage is of intermediate value as forage. The rumen degradability is 0.4–0.5. Young leaves contain per 100 g dry matter approximately: digestible dry matter 52 g, crude protein 18 g and energy 760 kJ; for old leaves: digestible dry matter 60 g, crude protein 11 g and energy 870 kJ.

Deciduous or semi-evergreen, small to fairly large tree up to 35(–40) m tall; bole branchless for up to 15 m, straight and cylindrical or poorly formed, up to 120 cm in diameter, without buttresses but sometimes fluted at base; bark surface smooth, grey to greyish brown, often flaking off in thick scales, in older trees becoming shallowly fissured, inner bark reddish; crown rounded but becoming flattened in older trees, with spreading branches; twigs glabrous or slightly hairy. Leaves alternate, paripinnately compound with 2–8 pairs of leaflets; stipules 1–4 cm long, usually caducous; petiole 1–5 cm long, thickened at base, rachis (3–)5–15(–18) cm long, grooved and slightly winged; leaflets opposite, ovate to elliptical, oblong or lanceolate, 1.5–20 cm × 0.5–8 cm, basal pair of leaflets smallest, obliquely rounded, truncate or cordate at base, acute to rounded or notched at apex, glabrous or slightly hairy, pinnately veined but with 3–5 basal veins. Inflorescence a terminal or axillary panicle up to 8 cm long, glabrous to short-hairy. Flowers bisexual, nearly regular, small, fragrant, at base with 2 obovate to rounded bracteoles 0.5–1 cm long; pedicel 2–8 mm long; sepals 0–4, slightly unequal, 0.5–3 mm long, nearly glabrous; petals absent; stamens 10, fused at base, 1–2 cm long; ovary superior, ellipsoid, 2–5 mm long, with stipe up to 6 mm long, hairy, style slender, up to 1.5(–2) cm long, coiled. Fruit an oblong to obovoid, flattened pod 8–15(–20) cm × 3–5 cm, at a right angle to the stipe, smooth but slightly wrinkled, slightly winged along one suture, dark brown to purplish brown, dehiscent with 2 woody valves, up to 6-seeded. Seeds oblong to ovoid, 1.5–2.5 cm long, dark brown.

''Brachystegia'' is a taxonomically difficult genus comprising about 30 species, distributed in mainland tropical Africa and South Africa, the majority of species occurring in southern tropical Africa, where they are characteristic of miombo woodland.

''Brachystegia spiciformis'' is extremely variable in leaf and inflorescence characters. It is slow growing, and may become a fairly large tree in wetter savanna and woodland, but remains a small stunted tree in dry areas. The taproot can reach a depth of more than 5 m and laterally the root system can extend over more than 25 m. Flowering and fruiting do not always occur every year and depend on the climatic conditions. In southern Africa, flowering usually occurs in August–November. The flowers are much visited by bees, which probably pollinate them. After pollination, fruit development takes 7–8 months. At the end of the dry season seeds are scattered when dry fruits split open explosively.

== Ecology ==

''Brachystegia spiciformis'' occurs in coastal and upland deciduous woodland and open forest, up to 2000(–2350) m altitude. It is characteristic of miombo woodland, where it is often dominant in higher rainfall areas. It can be found on hill slopes and river banks, but also on intensely drained and very poor and shallow soils. The annual rainfall in the area of distribution ranges from 500 mm to 1200 mm. ''Brachystegia spiciformis'' is frost and fire tender.

== Management ==

* Brummitt, R.K., Chikuni, A.C., Lock, J.M. & Polhill, R.M., 2007. Leguminosae, subfamily Caesalpinioideae. In: Timberlake, J.R., Pope, G.V., Polhill, R.M. & Martins, E.S. (Editors). Flora Zambesiaca. Volume 3, part 2. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, United Kingdom. 218 pp.

== Other references ==

* Campbell, B. (Editor), 1996. The miombo in transition: woodlands and welfare in Africa. Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Bogor, Indonesia. 266 pp.

== Author(s) ==

== Correct citation of this article ==

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