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Tambotie
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Tambotie. Also: Tambootie, Tamboetie, Tamboote, Tambuti, Tamboti, Tamboutie, Tomboti, Thomboti (Galpin 1925:21-22, 25). In the indigenous vernacular Morekure (seSotho), Tshopfori (seTsonga)]. In the Afrikaans vernacular it is the timber of the tambotieboom, therefore tambotiehout.
Timber of the Spirostachys africana. The species is common in the flat frostless Bushveld valleys. In the Waterberg district the plant association is known locally as 'T(h)omboti-associations', while a locality near Pretoria is known as Tambotiepan. The vernacular prefix 'tombotie', is transliterated from the original Nguni term 'um Thomboti', which means 'a poison tree' because of the caustic properties of the sap. While it is a good fuel wood, its smoke being pleasantly aromatic, but soon causes headaches and nausea. In eSwatini it is stated that they refuse to cook their food over fires made from the wood as it poisons the food. Indigenous peoples use the wood for making necklaces and other charms on account of the permanent scent. The shavings from the wood are used by them as a dressing for the hair. In the Lowveld, the locals use small quantities of the bark, mixed with porridge, as a purgative.
A deciduous tree up to 20m high, and 1,2m trunk diameter. The wood is heavy, close, but cross-grained, very durable and untouched by borers or termites and is said to be indestructible. Samples taken from Great Zimbabwe were carbon dated to 1 240 and 1 530 years ago. When green, the wood is pleasantly scented but the sap is caustic and care should be taken that it does not come into contact with the eyes.
Wood is dark brown, with a beautiful grain and satin-like lustre. Sapwood is creamy white, very thick in young trees. The wood is pleasantly scented, but loses its scent on exposure in dry climate. It is very heavy, close-grained, very strong and very durable, left untouched by termites or borers. Large-size trunks are almost invariably hollow in the centre, but can easily be split up into lengths with wedges. The wood is very hard and difficult to saw by hand. In addition to sawing with difficulty, it is hard to clean off after being cut as it is infused with gum. After drying it should be sandpapered and then oiled. The timber blackens with oiling and age. Because of the toxicity of the sawdust sawmills imposed a levy for sawing it. It is hard to work and, because of its oiliness, difficult to glue so joints are doweled although it has a tendency to split at boltholes if used structurally (Galpin 1924: 22; Van Wyk 1974:311).
It makes for excellent furniture and gun-stocks, but chairs made of it are very heavy to move about. It has been used for rafters, wagon axles and occasionally for disselbooms, but splits very easily and is especially liable to split at the bolt-hole. It was, in the past, found most useful as uprights for sheds and suchlike, as well as for for cattle races and similar farm structures where extra tall and strong fencing is required. It was not used for ordinary fencing, the poles being liable to be burned in grass fires. Because of its caustic qualities it could not be used for ox-yolks, since it caused lesions where these abraded their hides. This same quality, however, made it useful as an insect repellent when placed amongst linen.
(Text after Smith, CA. 1966. Common names of South African plants. Botanical Survey memoir no. 35. Pretoria: Department of Agricultural Technical Services with the Botanical Research Institute. p. 464 extended from Galpin, EE. 1925. The Native timbers of the Springbok Flats. Botanical Survey of South Africa memoir no. 7. Pretoria: Department of Agriculture, Division of Botany. pp. 21-22. See also Palgrave, KC. 1983. Trees of Southern Africa 1st Ed, 3rd Rev. Impression. Cape Town: Struik pp.435-436; Standard Encyclopaedia of South Africa [SESA] Volume 10 Sle-Tun:405; Van Wyk, P. 1974. Trees of the Kruger National Park (Vol. II). Cape Town : Purnell).