Sausage Tree

 
Setswana Name:  Moporoto
 
Botanical Name: 

Kigelia Africana

 
Family:

Jacaranda Family (Bignoniaceae)
 

Apart from the Baobab, this is probably the most frequently discussed tree of species in the Okavango Delta. It is extremely easy to recognise, because both flowers and fruits are very characteristic. As the common name "Sausage tree" implies, fruits resemble huge sausages and their presence on the tree makes it easy identify most times of the year.
 
The fruits can weigh up to four kg and they fall to ground throughout the year at the most unexpected times! The sausage-shaped fruit grows up to 50 centimeters in length and 10 centimeters in diameter. It is grey-green to pale brown in colour, hard and exceptionally heavy. The fruit hangs from a remarkably long stalk. The fruits fall from the trees in March/April of the following year. They lie undamaged on the ground for many months. They are definitely inedible and are reported to be poisonous, especially when still green.
 
In spring, the exquisitely beautiful red flowers, which are borne in profusion, are very striking. Flowers can remain on the tree for as long as two months. The fragrant, nectar-rich blossoms are pollinated by bats, insects and sunbirds in their native habitat.
In the absence of fruit and flowers the usually unbranched, grey, mottled stem and the wide-spreading, rounded, dense crown are identifying features. Closer observation reveals the large, leathery, compound leaves.
 
The tree does not branch much and the tips of the branches are unusually thick. The sausage tree is a deciduous fruit and sheds its leaves in late autumn and sometimes even in winter, depending on the moisture conditions.
 
Although a relatively unimportant source of food supply, elephant and kudu do eat the leaves, nyala eat the flowers and monkeys and baboons drink the nectar. Some African tribes regard the sausage tree as holy. Important meetings are held under the shade of the Sausage Tree and objects cut from the timber are worshipped.
 
Although the fruit is thought to be poisonous, it is still baked and added to beer brews to aid fermentation. In pulverized form, it is used to treat abscesses. A paste is made from the fruit and used to treat venereal diseases and rheumatism.

The wood of the tree is not very hard, but rather tough. When it is dry, it is easier to work with and produces a lovely smooth finish. Because the timber is strong and does not crack easily, it is used for the manufacturing of canoes, oars and yokes.
 
There are also a range of traditional uses for the fruit, varying from topical treatments for skin afflictions, to treatment for intestinal worms. There are some steroid chemicals found in the sausage tree that are currently added to commercially available shampoos and facial creams.
 
The Sausage Tree is one of the dominant species occurring on the islands in the Okavango Delta. It is common in the Xakanaxa, Third Bridge and Mboma Island areas, but only isolated specimens are to be found towards Khwai and Maqwee. They are more prevalent in deep, well-drained soils.