| DESCRIPTION: It is a leafy deciduous tree with an attractive somewhat layered appearance, usually 4-15 (25) m high with a rounded, flat topped, spreading crown, and a straight bole. Leaves broadly elliptic to obovate, wider towards the apex and 6-16 x 2.5-8 cm. Fruit winged, smooth, greenish when young, purplish-red to brown when mature, broadly elliptic to ovate, apex obtuse to rounded, emarginate, base acute to obtuse, 3.5 x 4.2(5) x 2.5 sometimes up to 7.5 cm long. USE: Leaves are browsed by livestock and the wood is a good sources of timber and firewood. Bark, fruits and roots contain dye and tannin. The phloem fibres are chewed and the solution swallowed in the treatment of yellow fever, particularly in children. An extract from the leaves is used to treat pink-eye in livestock and a medicine from the bark is used in the local treatment of hepatitis. The tree is grown for shade, shelter, windbreak an as an ornamental. Leaf fall is heavy, making excellent mulch. The tree is widely recommended for agroforestry; despite its rather dense shade, crops do well under its canopy. GROWING PERIOD: Perennial. COMMON NAMES: Darot. FURTHER INF: The drought resistant species occurs in the high rainfall woodlands, bushlands, and wooded savannah of the arid and semi-arid regions but can also be found in the sub-humid areas. It is often found near rivers in very dry areas. It prefers deep, sandy soils, and is widespread on loam soils. |