| DESCRIPTION: It is usually a many-stemmed shrub, occasionally small tree up to 7 m in height. Bark dark grey, deeply fissured and peeling away in strips in older specimens. Leaves elliptic to elliptic-oblong or lanceolate, 1.5-7 x 1-3.2 cm. Fruit single, or 2-lobed, each lobe about 6 mm in diameter. USE: The fruits are edible, leaves are used as binding agents for sauces and bark is essential in brewing of Œdolo‚ in Burkina Faso, it cleans and removes bitterness. Fruits and leaves used as fodder. Wood used as fuel and bark extracted for fibre. Leaves are used as an arbortifacient in Burkina Faso. Roots and leaves help in the treatment of pain in the intercostal area. Roots part of a remedy for chest complaints and colds, for gonorrhoea and female fertility, in poultice form they treat pustulous skin lesions, and they can be taken as tranquilizers. A decoction of roots is given on indication of delayed afterbirth to expel the placenta in humans, and sometimes cattle. Fruit taken for strength; wood said to be anthelmintic and bark used for boils and sores, inflammation of the intestines, syphilis, and as a vermifuge, diuretic and laxative. A decoction of the fruits makes an esteemed drink, a remedy for Œigandi‚ a deficiency disease. GROWING PERIOD: Perennial. COMMON NAMES: false brandy bush. FURTHER INF: Occurs most frequently in dry deciduous woodland at low altitudes, on sandy flats and rocky mountain slopes, also at medium altitudes in high-rainfall areas, often associated with termite mounds and frequently found in riverine fringes. Tropical summer rainfall and subtropical arid climates are suitable. It is very drought resistant. Prefers rich, shallow sands, occasionally on clay in the more northerly part of its natural distribution. |