Sausage Tree Kigelia africana

• Found from Tanzania to Kwazulu-Natal.
• This tree is found in riverine vegetation, on flood plains and in bushveld.
• The bark is grey in colour and smooth.
• Their flowers are large and deep red in colour, being more or less trumpet shaped and are produced between August to October and fruiting occurs from December to June.
• Their fruit is pale grey in colour and are large and sausage like, weighing as much as 10kg and a meter in length.
• The flowers of this tee are pollinated by bats and once fallen to the ground are eaten by a variety of animals.
• The unripe fruit is said to be poisonous but is taken as a remedy against syphilis and rheumatism.
• The ripe fruit, which is inedible, is added to beer brews, to aid with fermentation.
• When food was short, the seeds of this tree were roasted and eaten by certain tribes, while others make a dressing using powdered fruit.
• This same mixture is used to increase lactation and is rubbed on a baby's body to make them fat, but never on the head as it is feared that hydrocephalous might be the result.
• The wood is yellowish or whitish in colour and soft, being used to make dug out canoes, planks, boxes and hoes.
• Research is being carried out on the fruit of this tree, to be used as a treatment for skin disease, a moisturiser is already on the market in some African countries.