| DESCRIPTION: It is an evergreen or semi-deciduous, medium-sized to large tree, 7-35 m tall. Stem swollen at base, may be tall and fluted in forests and much shorter or unfluted in the open, may also be buttressed. Leaves compound, 10-36 cm long, 8-18 cm broad. Leaflets usually in 3-5 pairs. USE: Leaves can be used as feed and flowers provide forage for bees. Wood is used as timber, firewood and charcoal. The bark contain tannin. A decoction of the root is said to relieve headaches and chronic coughs.Leaves provide a remedy for intestinal worms. Bark is used as an emetic and to cure dysentery. Branches are burned in the fields to ward off evil spirits. Trees are planted for erosion control, windbreaks, shade and as ornamental and street trees. Trees may be intercropped with coffee and bananas. GROWING PERIOD: Perennial. COMMON NAMES: Cape ash, dog plum, ekebergia. FURTHER INF: It can tolerate slight drought conditions and very light frost but is tender to severe frost. It occurs in a variety of habitats including high-altitude evergreen forests, riverine forests and coastal sandveld. It is an occasional tree of sub-mountain and swamp forests. It also occurs in scrub, both along the coast and inland, where it may be stunted or gnarled. It is found in most parts of Zambia and it extends in a belt down the eastern side of the African continent from Ethiopia to the Cape, South Africa. It is a threatened species in Uganda and a protected tree in South Africa. |