If you are a porcupine, the thought of chewing on the bark of the Tamboti tree is enough to send thrills down your quills. If you are a black rhino you will seek out the slender, leaf-filled branches and eat them with relish.
If you happen to be of the species Homo sapiens then beware - Tamboti spells danger! The tree contains a white, milky latex which is poisonous to humans. This latex is characteristic of all members of the Euphorbia family (Euphorbiacea). The tree does have important medicinal value and the roots, bark and even the sap (latex) are used to cure various ailments although nausea always results and a heavy dose may even cause death. A little sap dabbed on an aching tooth is said to bring relief but liberal quantities may result in permanent relief from all pain - an early grave.
The Tamboti tree (Spirostachys africana) is sought after for the making of furniture as it is a hard, fine-grained wood. An interesting contrast is created by the light, creamy sapwood and the dark brown heartwood. The heartwood is resistant to decay and termite attack and is therefore used for building huts and as fencing poles. Of course, great care has to be taken when working with the Tamboti wood as the sawdust is poisonous. Even the smoke from a Tamboti fire is poisonous and could result in you painfully re-examining the contents of the previous night's bush braai. The wood should not be used for cooking fires, although once it has burnt down, the glowing coals can safely be used.
The small, green leaves turn to magnificent shades of yellow, orange and red and a grove of Tamboti trees in autumn is a sight to behold. It was during autumn, when my tree was ablaze with colour, that I was inspired to craft these Tamboti leaf earrings with matching choker, using silver wire and silver solder. The choker also has a single Tamboti leaf suspended.
Other common names: Tamboti (Eng.); Tambotie (Afr.); umThombothi (Zulu); Modiba (Northern Sotho); umThombotsi (siSwati); Ndzopfori (Tsonga); Morukuru (Tswana); Muonze (tshiVenda)
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