| DESCRIPTION: It is a small, deciduous tree 2.5-15 m high with a girth of 1.5 m. It may be single or multistemmed, with bark that is light grey, ribbed longitudinally. Flowers are small, white or cream with a strong and unpleasant smell. Fruits are 3.5-6.5 cm long, 2-3 cm wide; oval or oblong, light red to red-purple. USE: The tree exudes edible gum. Fruits are eaten by livestock. Wood used as firewood, charcoal and for tool handles, fence posts, house building, dhow keels and wagon axles. The Somali use a decoction to relieve postnatal abdominal pains. Leaves are used as green manure. GROWING PERIOD: Perennial. COMMON NAMES: sterkbos (Afrikaans), purple pod terminalia (English). FURTHER INF: It occurs in frost-free and often sandy areas and on stony slopes of arid and semi-arid zones. It also occurs in coastal bushlands and riverine thickets and on alluvial plains and saline areas. In Kenya, the species grows at the coast and the northern provinces as well as around Kibwezi and Kitui. |
