| DESCRIPTION: It is a deciduous shrub or tree, 3-15 m high, with a stem diameter of 25 cm. Generally 5- 6 m high in the Sahel. The tree blossoms in the dry season when it is leafless. The abundant, fragrant, pink or purplish flowers make the tree a spectacular feature. The trunk is rarely straight and often has fork s and twisted branches. Leaves imparipinnately compound, 25 cm long, alternate with 2-6 almost opposite pairs of leaflets and 1 terminal leaflet. Fruits slender, flat capsules or paired pods up to 45 x 1 cm. USE: The fruit is edible, leaves are browsed by horses and the flowers are a source of honey. The wood is used for furniture, shelving, pattern making, tool and implement handles, poles, utensils, gunstocks, mortars and platters and also as firewood. Pods are chewed with salt for coughs and are used in treatment of ulcers, leprosy, skin eruptions and venereal diseases; also used to cure flatulence in horses. Leaf infusion is used for washing wounds; macerated leaves are used to treat asthenia and exhaustion. Bark is used as a haemostatic and for treating wounds, and a stem-bark decoction is used to cure bronchitis, pneumonia and coughs. Venereal diseases, respiratory ailments and gastritis are treated using roots and leaves. The plant can also be used as an ornamental. GROWING PERIOD: Perennial. COMMON NAMES: Pink jacaranda. FURTHER INF: It is found in dry areas of deciduous forest, woodland, bush, rocky outcrops, termite mounds and margins of evergreen forests. The species is well spread all over the Sahel region and is often found near streams. |
