About Elephantorrhiza burkei Benth.
Elephantorrhiza burkei Benth. grows as a shrub or small tree with a dense, rounded crown, and typically reaches 1 to 3 metres in height. Its grey bark turns brown and eventually becomes blackish as the plant ages. The bipinnately compound leaves are about 25 centimetres long, and carry 4 to 8 pinnae, with each pinna holding 12 to 23 pairs of leaflets. Its fragrant flowers range in colour from creamy white to yellow, emerge in early summer, and are primarily pollinated by African honeybees. Flowering racemes on mature plants grow on branched stems some distance above ground, making the pods clearly visible. Flower spikes develop from leaf axils and are 5 to 10 centimetres long. The plant's elongated, flattened pods are brown to reddish brown, and measure up to 30 centimetres long by 4 centimetres wide. The shape of its seeds is variable, ranging from elliptic to nearly square (quadrate).
