leadwood, noun

/ˈledwʊd/
Origin:
Alluding to the weight of the wood.
hardekool. Also attributive.
1961 Palmer & Pitman Trees of S. Afr. 246The leadwood is a tall deciduous tree of the Transvaal bushveld and lowveld, Natal, Swaziland.., often growing up to 70 feet with a stem diameter of 3 feet. It is commonly supposed to be one of the slowest-growing trees in the lowveld.
1972 Palmer & Pitman Trees of Sn Afr. I. 195Probably the most revered tree of Southern Africa belongs to South West Africa. It is the Omumborombonga, the leadwood or hardekool (Combretum imberbe), the ancestral tree of the Herero people who believe that from it came human beings, their flocks and herds, and all wild animals.
1977 S. Afr. Panorama Sept. 42A number of tables were arranged in horse-shoe fashion that evening round the large leadwood camp fire for staff and guests.
1978 A.P. Brink Rumours of Rain 353And then the nights in the camp, the meat strung up in the trees and the heavy leadwood logs burning as high as a house.
1988 A. Hall-Martin et al. Kaokoveld 11Along watercourses which cut through the rugged terrain the dominant trees are mopane,..and leadwood (Combretum imberbe).
1990 Farmer’s Weekly 8 June 108Unspoiled indigenous bush with magnificent big trees such as leadwood, tambotie and knobthorn.
hardekool. Also attributive.
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leader, nounn.leaguer, nounn.
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