There are many anecdotal uses of the sausage tree. The powdered mature fruit is applied as a dressing in the treatment of wounds, abscesses, and ulcers . The green fruit is used as a poultice for syphilis and rheumatism, and a poultice made from leaves is used as a treatment for backache.
Where does the sausage tree grow?
Overview. With its peculiar, sausage-shaped fruit and blood-red, tulip-shaped flowers, the sausage tree Kigelia africana (also Kigelia pinnata) is a striking standout. It is native to tropical Africa , where it grows in open woodlands, along riverbanks and streams, and in floodplains.
Do sausages grow on trees?
The sausages growing on our trees really aren’t sausages after all . They are actually just the fruit or seed pod formed by the Kigelia Africana, commonly known as the Sausage Tree.
What is kigelia used for?
Kigelia africana wood is considered excellent for dugout canoes, planks and fenceposts . It is also used for making boxes, drums, stools, yokes, tool handles, mortars and large bowls for watering cattle. Weapon bows are made from branches, and smaller branches are hollowed to administer enemas to children [15].
How do you grow kigelia?
Scarify seeds by rubbing on medium sandpaper until the seed coat is rubbed through, soak overnight in warm water, then sow 1 inch deep in fast-draining soil and keep warm until germination. Water only when surface becomes dry. Keep in deep pots, or if growing outdoors, space trees at least 30 feet apart.
Are sausage trees poisonous?
The genus consists of only one species, Kigelia africana, which occurs throughout tropical Africa. The so-called sausage tree grows a poisonous fruit that is up to 60 cm (2 feet) long, weighs about 7 kg (15 pounds), and resembles a sausage in a casing.
What is sausage fruit?
Sausage fruits, botanically classified as Kigelia Africana , are woody berries that grow in clusters attached to long, rope-like stems, dangling from the branches of a large, fast-growing tree. ... Kigelia Africana trees are highly regarded as an ornamental tree, favored for its crimson, hanging flowers that bloom at night.
How poisonous is Kigelia?
The kigelia, or “sausage tree,” is a common sight in the Serengeti. It may have a mouth-watering name, but don’t eat from the sausage tree (the popular name for the kigelia) unless you know what you’re doing! ... Secondly, if you consume the tree’s fruits raw, they’re highly poisonous . So that one’s pretty literal.
Is kigelia Africana good for you?
With a rich history of medicinal uses in Africa, from healing wounds to backaches, stomach problems to pneumonia, Kigelia is even used as an anti-cancer and anti-malarial and the tree’s fruits are used to treat inflammation for a wide range of conditions including irritated skin.
What is the use of kigelia Africana?
Kigelia africana is a quintessential African herbal medicinal plant with a pan-African distribution and immense indigenous medicinal and non-medicinal applications. The plant is use traditionally as a remedy for numerous disease such as use wounds healing, rheumatism, psoriasis, diarrhea and stomach ailments .
How do you make Kigelia africana?
In order to make the fruits safe for beer brewing, they must first be sun-dried, then fermented with sugar cane juice for around 24 hours , then dried again, before finally being added to a large barrel of sugar cane juice, where they’ll ferment for around four days.
How do you propagate a sausage tree?
The tree is easily propagated from fresh seed sown in river sand in September , or from truncheons. Protect young plants from frost. Plant in full sun, add lots of compost and mulch well. Water moderately.
What Colour are the flowers of the sausage tree?
It is native to Africa. Sausage trees (Kigelia africana) in Murchison Falls National Park, northwestern Uganda. The tree’s flowers, about 10 cm (4 inches) wide, are purplish green in colour and are slightly irregular in shape or bent to one side.
What does a sausage fruit taste like?
What does blue sausage fruit taste like? The pulpy flesh is transparent and tastes deliciously sweet and subtle, with notes of cucumber and melon , so it can be utilised in sweet or savoury recipes. Undoubtedly though, the fruit’s special attraction comes from its incredible blue peel, which is not edible.
