Dombeya kirkii (Kirk's Dombeya)
Dombeya kirkii
A shrub or small tree related to the park's forest dombeya (Dombeya torrida), grown for its heart-shaped leaves and dense, drooping clusters of white-to-pale-pink flowers that are heavily visited by bees and other insects.
- Kinyarwanda name
- Dombeya kirkii
- English name
- Kirk's Dombeya
- Scientific name
- Dombeya kirkii
- Family
- Malvaceae
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)
Habitat
Riverine thicket, forest margins and wooded grassland, usually at low-to-mid elevations.
Distribution
East, Central and Southern Africa — from Kenya and Uganda south through the DRC and Rwanda to Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and South Africa.
Uses
Grown as an ornamental for its flower clusters; fibrous bark is used in parts of its range for cordage/rope, a common use across the Dombeya genus; sometimes browsed by livestock.
Ecological importance
A significant bee and pollinating-insect forage plant during flowering; provides dense thicket cover for small wildlife.
Ibisobanuro
Ni igihuru cyangwa igiti gito gifitanye isano n'umukore w'ishyamba (Dombeya torrida), gitera kubera amababi asa n'umutima n'amatsinda menshi y'indabo z'umweru-pink zoroheje, zisurwa cyane n'inzuki n'udundi dukoko.