Bottle tree

The Bottle tree – Pachypodium lealii - is a species of plant included in the genus Pachypodium. The scientific name derives from the 19th century Portuguese geologist Fernando da Costa Leal, that described the Bottle tree during an exploration in southern Angola.

This species can be either a shrub or a tree up to 6 meters tall and is characterized by the thick bottle-shaped trunk, which is almost branchless until the top. The branches are few and covered by slender thorns up to 30 cm long. Leaves are oblong and are covered with short hairs on both surfaces. The flowers, shown below in detail, are present in the spring, when the tree is leafless. The white flowers, characteristic of the Apocynaceae family, cluster around the tips of the branches.

The Bottle tree is an endemic species of Namibia and southern Angola where it occupies the semi-desert areas and dry bushvelds, usually along rocky hillsides. It's especially common in the Etendeka plateau of NE Namibia, where it can be seen growing in the basalt slopes.

The plant produces a watery latex, rich in toxic alkaloids, used by local populations as arrow poison for hunting. In contact with the eyes can produce blindness.

References

Trees of Southern Africa by A. van Wyk and P. van Wyk