Glossy Leaved Corkwood

schimperi: named after Prof. Andreas Schimper (1856 - 1908), German botanist and plant collector.

Shrub or small tree. Bark dark green to yellowish-green flaking in large golden-brown to yellowish strips; branches spine-tipped. Leaves clustered on small lateral branchlets, 3-foliolate or rarely imparipinnate with 2-4 pairs leaflets; leaflets obovate, up to 5 × 3.5 cm, lateral leaflets about half the size of terminal leaflet, more or less shiny green, hairless; margin coarsely toothed; petiole slender, up to 3 cm long. Flowers in small axillary sessile clusters, red, cup-shaped, appearing before the leaves. Fruit ovoid, c. 1.3 cm long, pointed, pale pink, splitting to reveal a black seed almost entirely hidden by a 4-lobed bright red pseudo-aril.

Namibia, Zimbabwe and northern South Africa

Commiphora schimperi, also known as glossy-leaved corkwood, is a tree species in the genus Commiphora, which is native to Namibia, Zimbabwe and northern South Africa.