River Dombeya

kirkii: named after Dr John Kirk, who accompanied David Livingstone on his Zambezi expedition of 1858

Multi-stemmed shrub or small tree. Bark smooth, grey to brown; branchlets densely hairy. Leaves broadly ov. ate, up to 13 × 10 cm, not lobed or only very shallowly so, 5-7-veined from the base, very roughly hairy above, softly hairy below; margin scalloped or toothed. Flowers borne in profusion in axillary clusters, white, c. 1.3 cm in diameter, appearing with the new leaves. Fruit a round capsule, c. 5 mm in diameter, covered in whitish silky hairs, surrounded by the dried papery petals.

Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, NE Limpopo, South Africa.