African elephant vs Common White Ash

Loxodonta africana compared with Bersama tysoniana

Key Differences

• African elephant is Vulnerable while Common White Ash is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	African elephant	Common White Ash
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Proboscidea (Elephants)	Geraniales (Geraniales)
Family	Elephantidae (Elephants)	Melianthaceae
Genus	Loxodonta (African Elephants)	Bersama
Species	Loxodonta africana	Bersama tysoniana

Conservation Status

African elephant

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~415.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Common White Ash

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	African elephant	Common White Ash
Diet	Herbivore	—
Average Lifespan	65 years	—
Average Length	6.0 m	—
Average Weight	6.0 t	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

African elephant

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, and flooded grasslands and savannas, among 5 distinct biome types within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Found in Kenya. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Common White Ash

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

African elephant

The largest land animal on Earth, African elephants can reach 7,000 kg and inhabit sub-Saharan savannas, forests, and wetlands. Highly intelligent with complex social structures led by matriarchs, they communicate through infrasound, rumbles, and touch. As ecosystem engineers, they shape habitats by uprooting trees, digging waterholes, and dispersing seeds. Vulnerable, with populations declining due to ivory poaching and habitat loss.

Common White Ash

<em>Bersama tysoniana</em>, commonly known as the common white ash or Tyson's bersama, is a tree in the family Melianthaceae, native to southern Africa. It is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN. The species is found in forest margins, riverine woodland, and moist montane habitats within its native range on the African continent, where it typically grows as a small to medium-sized tree. <em>Bersama tysoniana</em> produces pinnately compound leaves with numerous leaflets, small white to cream-colored flowers arranged in terminal racemes, and distinctive capsular fruits that split to reveal seeds with fleshy orange-red arils. The arils are attractive to birds, which serve as the primary seed dispersers, facilitating natural regeneration within forest ecosystems. The wood is reportedly hard and durable, and the plant has been used in traditional medicine within its native range. Geographic range details and associated country records for this particular entry remain incompletely documented in available data sources. Biological traits including average lifespan, tree height, and mass remain poorly documented in standardized databases. Ecologically, <em>Bersama tysoniana</em> contributes to the structural complexity of southern African forest edge communities and supports a range of frugivorous birds and invertebrates through its fruit production, playing a modest but consistent role in forest food webs and seed dispersal networks.