Brackenridgea zanguebarica

Brackenridgea zanguebarica, the yellow peeling plane, is a species of plant in the family Ochnaceae. It is native to the southeastern Afrotropics. The bark of the tree is locally in high demand for traditional medicine.

It is known locally as Mutavhasindi among native healers in Vhembe district of South Africa.



Description
The plant grows either as a shrub or tree, it is a deciduous species that can reach an height of 10 m. The bark is corky and furrowed often greyish in color but sometimes black with yellow pigments and a yellow inner bark. Leaves are petiolate, the stipules are markedly longitudinally striate. Leaflets are obovate to elliptic in outline, up to 5 cm long and 3 cm wide and with a toothed margin. The flowers are whitish to cream in color and are solitary or in clusters of 2-8.

Range
It occurs in Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and very locally Limpopo Province of South Africa, where it is endangered. Occurs in wooded grasslands and forest margins.

Uses
The stem bark and root extracts of the plant is used in native medicine to treat a variety of ailments that include amenorrhea, conjunctivitis, wound treatment and venereal diseases.