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{{Short description|Species of tree}}
{{Italic title}}
{{speciesbox
| name = ''Boscia albitrunca''▼
|name = Shepherd tree
|image = Boscia albitrunca, habitus, Steenbokpan, b.jpg
|
▲| genus = ''[[Boscia]]''
▲| species = '''''B. albitrunca'''''
▲| binomial_authority = ([[Burch.]]) [[Gilg]] & [[Ben.]]
}}
'''''Boscia albitrunca''''', commonly known as the '''shepherd tree''' or '''shepherd's tree''' ({{langx|af|Witgat}}, {{langx|st|Mohlôpi}}, {{langx|tn|Motlôpi}}, {{langx|ve|Muvhombwe}}, {{langx|xh|Umgqomogqomo}}, {{langx|zu|Umvithi}}), is a [[protected species]] of [[South Africa]]n tree in the [[Capparidaceae|caper family]].<ref name="dwaf">{{cite web
|url=http://www2.dwaf.gov.za/dwaf/cmsdocs/4116___poster%20protected%20trees.pdf
|title=Protected Trees
|date=3 May 2013
|publisher=Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, Republic of South Africa
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100705085122/http://www2.dwaf.gov.za/dwaf/cmsdocs/4116___poster%20protected%20trees.pdf
|archive-date=2010-07-05
}}</ref> It is known for having the deepest known root structure of any plant at: -{{convert|68|m|abbr=}}.<ref name=":0" />
The species epithet "albitrunca" refers to the white trunk it oftentimes develops. Traditionally, the shepherd tree was used by Dutch settlers, [[boers]], to create a variant of coffee from the roots of the tree.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Boscia albitrunca {{!}} PlantZAfrica |url=https://pza.sanbi.org/boscia-albitrunca |access-date=2023-08-27 |website=pza.sanbi.org}}</ref> It is an [[evergreen]] tree native to southern and tropical Africa, living in the hot, dry, and often seasonally [[brackish]] low-lying areas, sometimes on abundant [[calcium carbonate|lime]] or occasionally on rocky terrain. It is a common tree of the [[Kalahari Desert|Kalahari]], [[bushveld]] and [[lowveld]]. It is one of the most important animal [[Browsing (herbivory) |forage trees]] in the Kalahari.<ref name="hav">{{cite journal |last1=Havenga |first1=C. J. |last2=van Niekerk |first2=W. A. |last3=Rethman |first3=N. F. G. |last4=Coertze |first4=R. J. |title=Certain qualitative characteristics of Boscia foetida at different sites in South Africa |journal=South African Journal of Animal Science |date=2004 |issue=34 |pages=62–64 |url=http://www.sasas.co.za/sites/sasas.co.za/files/havengagoat04_0.pdf |access-date=18 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816040238/http://www.sasas.co.za/sites/sasas.co.za/files/havengagoat04_0.pdf |archive-date=16 August 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
''Boscia'' belongs to the caper family [[Capparaceae]]. Pickled capers are made from the unopened buds of European members of this family. ''Boscia albitrunca'' is closely related to ''[[Boscia foetida]]'' subsp. ''rehmanniana'', which has much smaller leaves and vevet-textured fruits. The genus was named for Louis Bosc (1759-1828), a French professor of agriculture who lived through the revolution. The species epithet "albitrunca" refers to the white trunk.▼
==
This tree grows up to {{convert|10|m|abbr=on}} tall but is usually much smaller. It has a prominent, sturdy white trunk frequently with strips of rough, dark-coloured bark. The [[crown (botany)|crown]] is often [[herbivory|browsed]] by [[antelope]] and any [[grazing|grazers]] capable of reaching the foliage, resulting in a conspicuous flattened underside, or browse-line. The [[leaf|leaves]] are narrow, [[leaf shape|oblanceolate]], and stiff, with veins obscure except for the distinct [[Wiktionary:midrib#Noun|midrib]]. The [[flower]]s are small, greenish-yellow, lacking petals, starburst-shaped, and clustered. The [[fruit]]s, on a jointed stalk, are about {{convert|10|mm|1|abbr=on}} in diameter and are brittle-skinned with a whitish flesh and large [[endocarp]]. A specimen found in the central [[Kalahari]] in 1974 had [[root]]s extending to {{convert|68|m|abbr=on}} deep, making it the plant with the deepest known roots thus far found.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal |last=Canadell |first=J. |author2=R. B. Jackson |author3=J. B. Ehleringer |author4=H. A. Mooney |author5=O. E. Sala |author6=E.-D. Schulze |date=18 July 1996 |title=Maximum rooting depth of vegetation types at the global scale |journal=Oecologia |volume=108 |issue=4 |pages=583–595 |doi=10.1007/BF00329030 |pmid=28307789 |s2cid=2092130}}</ref>
==Relationships==
[[Category:Brassicales]]▼
▲''Boscia'' belongs to the caper family, [[Capparaceae]]
[[Category:Flora of South Africa]]▼
[[Category:Trees of Africa]]▼
==Gallery==
<gallery mode=packed heights=190 style="font-size:100%; line-height:130%">
Boscia albitrunca10.jpg|Specimen with a clear browse line, [[Limpopo]]
Boscia albitrunca, habitus, naby Marnitz, a.jpg|Specimen with its canopy infested with [[Viscum rotundifolium|red-berry mistletoe]], Limpopo
Boscia albitrunca00.jpg|Flowering during late winter, Limpopo
Boscia albitrunca07.jpg|Green fruit during spring, [[Kalahari Desert|Kalahari]]
Cape Glossy Starling (Lamprotornis nitens) eating a fruit of a Shepherd's Tree (Boscia albitrunca) (45181194105).jpg|Ripe fruit consumed by a [[Lamprotornis nitens|cape starling]], early summer, [[Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park|Kgalagadi]]
</gallery>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
*{{cite web |title=''Boscia albitrunca''|work=PlantZAfrica.com|url=http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantab/bosciaalbi.htm|access-date=2010-03-04}}
==External links==
* {{AfricanPlants|Boscia albitrunca}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q3643502}}
[[Category:Boscia|albitrunca]]
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