File:Commiphora marlothii, habitus, Skrikfontein, b.jpg

English: Habit of a Paperbark corkwood (C. marlothii) at Skrikfontein, Limpopo. It is completely leafless during early winter, despite good rains. This tree was found near the top of a wooded gully, where the first of these were encountered while ascending the hill. Generally the species appears to prefer the most inhospitable rocky habitats, and most were indeed in rock cracks or on cliff ledges where the amount of soil must be very little, and very leached of nutrients. The copious amount of papery bark that peels off from the branches everywhere was interesting to note, more so than with the superficially similar Paperbark false-thorn (Albizia tanganyicensis), which also occurs here. The two species appear to specialize on separate, distinct substrates, the latter on relatively unstable scree slopes.