Combretum imberbe

The Leadwood is an iconic tree of South Africa’s savanna regions, occurring from northern Kwazulu-Natal through the Lowveld and bushveld regions of Mpumalanga and Limpopo to northern Gauteng and the North West Province. These trees favour alluvial soils in lower-lying areas near rivers and streams.

Leadwoods are slow growing, may reach to over 20m in height with an equally wide-spread canopy and have exceptionally hard, heavy wood – a 1m³ block of dry wood from the Leadwood weighs more than 1,200kg! These trees are long-lived and mature Leadwoods may exceed 1,000 years in age. Even dead trunks may stand for another century, the hard wood being so resistant to rot and termites.

Leadwood

Leadwood

Leadwood

Gnarled Leadwood stump

Leadwood stump

Preserved leadwood stump in the middle of the S130 road

White-backed Vultures in a Leadwood stump

Elephant and Leadwood

Long dead Leadwood Tree