"Sausage" Growing On A Tree

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

As Samuel Marshak wrote about the Russian New Year tree: "Gingerbread and flags do not grow on the tree, nuts do not grow in golden paper." But in hot Africa there is a tree, the fruits of which hang from the branches, like sausages in a trading store, for which people called this tree - the Sausage tree. True, you cannot make a sandwich with such a sausage, which does not at all detract from the many advantages of an earthly plant

The sausage tree grows in tropical Africa, south of the Sahara Desert. The Latin name of the plant "Kigelia" is borrowed from the African language Bantu, in which the name of the tree sounds like "Kigeli-keia". It is interesting that the Arabic name of the tree, translated into Russian, means "Creator of a set of bags."

Appearance of a seductive tree

Kigelia or Sausage tree is a woody plant up to twenty meters high with widely spreading lateral branches, creating a lush crown with leaves. The gray smooth bark of a tree in old age is peeling.

In areas where it rains throughout the year, Kigelia is an evergreen tree, and where there is a prolonged dry season, the leaves fall during this time. Cirrus leaves consist of six to ten oval leaves up to twenty centimeters long and up to six centimeters wide. The surface of the leaf plate is green, glossy, leathery and wavy.

Quite large (up to ten centimeters wide) bell-shaped flowers are either horizontally attached to the branches, or hang from the branches on flexible peduncles, the length of which can vary from two to six meters. The flower petals are covered with a waxy coating and range in color from orange to dark burgundy or purplish green. A pistil and stamens coquettishly protrude from the mouth of the bell. A stronger aroma comes from the flowers at night, as bats are the main pollinators of the tree.

Pollinated flowers turn into woody berries, growing in length from thirty to one hundred centimeters and a width of eighteen to twenty centimeters. Fruits weighing from five to ten (rarely up to twelve) kilograms hang on strong long peduncles, resembling sausage loaves. Inside such a "sausage" there is a fibrous pulp with numerous seeds.

Sausage tree propagation

The fruits themselves do not unfold, but wait for the participation of assistants, among which the most active are monkeys from the Baboon clan. They have strong teeth and sharp fangs, with which they easily straighten out with the strong shell of "sausages". Having undergone chemical "treatment" in the digestive organs of baboons, the seeds, getting into the soil, germinate easily and quickly, giving life to new trees. It is interesting that seeds that have not undergone such treatment behave very capriciously, often refusing to germinate. Such an unusual fellowship exists between the plant and the animals.

Human use of the sausage tree

Unfortunately, such weighty "sausages" in their raw form are poisonous to humans. Locals dry, roast or ferment the fruit of the tree, and then use it in cooking. Kenyan natives use dried fruits to make an alcoholic beverage that helps to make cultural local celebrations more fun.

The pale brown or yellowish wood of the Sausage tree is dense and does not crack. From a long solid tree trunk in Botswana, boats are made by digging the middle of the trunk. Such boats are called "mokoro". Oars are made from the same wood.

The tree is grown as a decorative decoration. But with such a handsome man, one should be careful not to become a victim of his weighty fruits, or not to endanger vehicles.

Kigelia is a highly valuable medicinal plant that has been used by healers in African communities for centuries. The main direction of using the healing powers of the tree is the treatment of skin diseases (boils, psoriasis, eczema, wounds, fungal infections and even skin cancer). Creams help maintain skin elasticity and firmness and strengthen hair.