Bio Diversity Park

Common Name : Balsam Tree, Butterfly Tree, Turpentine Tree

Hindi Name : मोपाने | Scientific Name : Colophospermum mopane
Family : Fabaceae
Uses : The plant is useful in stabilizing dry, alkaline soils. It is listed as one of the tree species used in sand-dune stabilization in India. The ash is rich in calcium and potassium and is a useful fertilizer. A small fibre is said to be obtainable from the bark of some trees. It is used to make twine. The tree is the source of the resin Angola, or Congo, Copal. Copal is a hard resin, obtained from various tropical trees, and mainly used in making varnish. The dark-grey wood is hard, heavy, quite durable. It is used as mine timbers, fence posts, house poles, bridge timbers, railway material, carved ornaments, parquet flooring and furniture. Due to its great durability and resistance to termites, it is widely used for construction, tool handles and other implements. An excellent firewood, burning with great heat and very little ash; it burns easily, even when green. An extract of the bark is used as a remedy for syphilis and as an application to inflamed eyes. A deep red decoction of the bark is drunk to cure stomach pains. An extract of the roots is used as a remedy for tapeworm. The leaves are used for healing wounds.
Native: Southern Africa
General Description:

It can be a shrub or a tall tree up to 30 m in the northern part of its range, depending on soil conditions and water availability. It has a tall, narrow crown. The compound leaves are divided in two so that the leaflets resemble butterfly wings or a camel's foot. There is a tiny point at the join of the two leaflets which is the remnant of a third, terminal leaflet. Crushed leaves have a turpentine odour. It is a deciduous (sometimes semi-deciduous) tree with lovely autumn and spring colours. Sprays of small, green flowers appear in December and January. These are followed by pods which ripen between April and June and are flat and somewhat kidney-shaped. They change from green to light, finely speckled brown. The flat seeds inside are sticky from resin exuded by glands which cover them. The greyish brown bark is very deeply fissured in vertical fissures. It has a rough, ropey appearance and is very distinctive.