This cache was placed as part of the Tswaing Crater Sleepover II, 2010 (GC253H3)
This Leadwood tree, Ysterhout in Afrikaans, (Combretum imberbe) are located in the back corner of Tswaing reserve. This tree can only be reached by foot or bicycle. The age of this tree is estimated at around 800 years due to the circumference of it's trunk. The g It normally grows up to 20 metres (66 feet) tall. The Leadwood tree has a spreading, rather sparse, roundish to slightly umbrella-shaped crown and a single, thick trunk, with distinctive bark breaking up into fairly regular rectangular blocks. Radiocarbon dating, done in South Africa, has established that a Leadwood tree can live up to 1040 +/-70 years and subsequently remain standing for years after the tree has died. This particular tree were damaged by the residents over the fence for firewood and that is why you can see so many shortened branches in the tree. The growth rate of the Leadwood is around 1 to 1.5 mm in circumference per year.
Uses:
The wood is very hard, difficult to work, and termite resistant. It was once used for railway sleepers and is now prized as wood for ornamental work and furniture. It burns very slowly with intense heat, and is often used for a fire which is intended to burn all night in order to keep wild animals at bay. It is sometimes used in a barbecue to provide a hot, long-lasting flame. The ashes are used as whitewash for painting walls of kraal huts. The ashes can also be used as toothpaste when mixed into a paste with water The Hereros and the Ovambos of Namibia regard the Leadwood tree as the great ancestor of all animals and people and they never pass it without paying it the necessary respect.
PLEASE NOTE: There is a small entrance fee of R20.00 per person payable if you enter the Tswaing Meteorite Crater.