Useful trees in Africa

There are many and varied trees that bear edible and delicious fruits that originate in Africa, a large part of which we know and cherish in our provinces as well. They are joined by many other trees with different and diverse properties, to which the inhabitants of the Black Continent have great importance, and to which they have many uses, I will try to review some of the most prominent among them

Adonsonia Digitata
The first tree in the row that stands out and maybe also impressive is of course the baobab
But we have devoted an entire article to it, so it will remain in its honorable place. J

Kigelia Africana
Not in order of importance, but certainly prominent in the field is the sausage tree
Its popular name is due to its sausage-looking fruits
Whereas the scientific name is a distortion of its popular name in Mozambique, which means the rise of the sheep
in southern Africa is called
Kazangula
The Arabs called it "Avi the Sack" (Abu Gunya) because of its fruits,
The tree grew to a height of 20 meters
, on which the large ones are green all year round, large flowers that bloom after the rains, red-crimson in color and smelling like rotten meat, and indeed its main pollinator is a flesh fly. The fruits that gave it its name reach a weight of 15 kg, and indeed look like a huge sausage
along 50 cm
In nature, the tree is not particularly popular as a food provider, yet it centers around it a lot of activity. On it, the young are eaten by elephants, giraffes, kudos, goons pick and eat the flowers, bats suck from the flowers at night (and help with pollination), sedges and porcupines collect and eat the fallen flowers.
Despite the tradition that the fruits of the tree are poisonous, beavers have been seen eating the peel of the fruit and elephants eating the whole, in a strange sighting from Luanda (Zambia) hippopotamuses are reported to go a long way just to find the fruit of the tree and eat it. For man, Kigali is of great importance: its trunk in good conditions splits at a height of 6 meters,
Resistant to insects and relatively light, so it is suitable for carving dogfish from its source
makoro
The branches of the tree are used for oars and masts.
By boiling the fruits in water a red pulp is obtained which is used as a dye. The dry fruits are used as fuel and heating. Despite its "advertisement" as poisonous, in times of need the seeds are eaten after roasting and cooking.

In East and West Africa, the green fruits are used as ferments in the domestic beer industry. In Zambia, the cows are crushed together with the bark of the tree and after adding water and honey, the mixture is fermented and the result is a very spicy liqueur. In southern Africa, a mixture of the fruit and the stem bark boiled in water is used as an emetic stimulant. In West Africa, rural doctors use a similar mixture to heal ulcers (external and internal), syphilis as well as to cure arthritis. Hanging the fruit in the house "guarantees" prevention of damage from storms, rubbing the fruit on the baby's body strengthens and heals (the baby), rubbing the fruit on the breasts of a nursing mother increases the flow of milk.
Recently, an extract from the fruit and the bark of the tree is produced in a pharmaceutical and cosmetics factory
In DRAP, with the addition of aromatic oils, an emulsion is obtained that is sold
And used to treat skin problems such as: Kigelia under the name Kigelia
Mild melanoma, psoriasis, eczema, skin color changes (dyspigmentation) and more. Thus once again it turns out that a local tradition draws from facts and therefore it is possible and appropriate to infuse it with innovative developments.

Melanoxylon Dalbergia- Ebony
הבנה
Perhaps the familiar name among the idle trees, because of the distribution of sculptures and carved figures
Sold in every corner of East Africa, the evergreen tree with white flowers and red fruits grows in equatorial (and rainy) regions.
7 reaches a height of about a meter
After about 60 years, that is, growing slowly,
From southern Ethiopia to Mozambique Muombo, a tree typical of the "Miombo forest: - on slopes in the mountains and on high and rainy plains, but due to the high demand on the one hand and its slow development from Ida, it was almost completely cut down and destroyed in most areas of its distribution, and today many trees can only be found in Tanzania. The extinction of understanding due to its publication and adaptation to various demands and purposes: known and special for the shiny black color of the core of the trunk and its hardness, which makes it much sought after for luxury furniture items, sculptures and especially for wind instruments such as: clarinet, oboe, flutes, hence its nickname among merchants - "wood The music" and because of its special quality and "suitability" for carving, two well-known and famous carving populations were created for the special skill needed to carve understanding;
One population is the Hakamba people in Kenya about 20,000
The second are the wood carvings from the Makonda tribe in Tanzania approx. 60.000
Mpingo in East Africa is called the tree
,, These two populations make a living (almost exclusively) from carving and selling statues to tourists.
It is estimated that today there are about a million trees in Tanzania, of which about six hundred thousand are of a suitable size for felling.
within 30 years
. In order to save the tree from extinction on the one hand and on the other hand not to harm the livelihood of the wood carvers, conservation organizations try to replace the raw material for carving with other more common trees, such as: mango, grevillea, jacaranda, most of them are trees that grow quickly and successfully in large areas, and their quality is good as a substitute for understanding. At the same time as the replacement attempts, replanting projects of understanding trees are being carried out in an attempt to preserve the existing ones.

Acacia nigrescenc
. One of the possibilities for saving understanding from extinction is the use
in black method
Among the 70 species of acacia that cover large areas in Africa, this acacia grows near streams and springs, (more typical of the southern regions), its advantage is the great similarity of the core of the stem to understanding: a black, heavy and hard core, features because of which even many carvers do not know that they have acacia in their hands, I once walked with a section in my hand that was cut off (in front of me) from a black acacia branch, everywhere I showed the section to the carvers and asked a question, they answered me that it was understanding. Many species of acacia have very hard wood
So much so that at the beginning of the nineteenth century, spare parts for locomotive engines were made from the core of the breed (in South Africa). Due to their high density (specific gravity) many of the species of the acacia are considered "lightning attractors" and therefore it is recommended not to park them in a storm. Ash from a tree struck by lightning mixed with goat fat is used as a strong amulet for protection against enemies in verbal confrontations. In many (arid) places, acacia trees are the most important source of food in the area (for vegetarians). Since it is common and abundant, the acacia tree is used as the most available supplier of material for construction and fire.
Rural doctors refer to the acacia tree as a "medicine cabinet" where the most common mixture is a boiled stem bark and root section. The pulp is good for healing: hemorrhages, diarrhea, vomiting, colds, gonorrhea. Ear infection is cured by powder from crushed pods (fruits). Headache passes after using burnt and crushed stem. Chewing (in the mouth) leaves and cooking them with crushed thorns is used as a medicine to prevent itching caused by insect bites. Extraction of the same pulp (by drying) is used as a "serum" for snake bites
Most of the virtues are probably attributed to the system due to a high concentration of tannin, the same raw material that made the bark of the system's stem a permanent element in the process
Dyeing, textiles, body, tools and more. J
Acacia senegal is made from gum arabic
Different species of acacia produce good quality resin as a base for sweets, medicines and more. The Bushmen know that in the dead branches of the canopy method you can find a delicacy Macrotoma natala this is the larva of a long horned beetle - mabungo it is called
6 The caterpillar reaches a cm in length and can be eaten raw or roasted (my taste - tolerable)

Ficus sycamores

We all know another type of food and a little more accepted is sycamore fruit
Although today the fruit is not eaten by people except in times of distress, but many animals benefit from it; Monkeys, bats, birds, insects, fish and crabs happily eat the fruits.
Vegetarians love the leaves, elephants do acrobatics to reach the high leaves (since the tree is too strong to be knocked down), pigs and sardines collect fallen fruits and many species of insects enjoy the tree.
Many other uses for wood: the wood is soft, light and dries quickly and is therefore suitable for carving traditional drums. In ancient Egypt it was used for coffins (for the common people), the resin of the tree is very sticky and for that reason it is used to trap birds - the sticky resin is spread on branches and the birds that stand on the spread branch stick to their place. By fermenting the sycamore leaves, you can make an alcoholic drink that tastes similar to gin (not to my taste). By cooking the trunk bark and the resin, a medicine is prepared to relieve chest pains and heal swelling in the throat. Shepherds know that if their cows eat sycamore leaves, their milk yield will increase, and while the cows are eating, the shepherd can light a fire by rubbing two sycamore branches together, since the branches are suitable for this task. . The tree usually grows near (flowing) water. Its size, woodpeckers and holes in the trunk, constitute an opportunity and a place for a large variety of 'tenants'. Food, water, "housing" places, all of this makes Sycamore a rich and diverse oasis

. Raphia farinifera

Many engaged in plaiting napkins in craft classes.... Today they plait with plastic, but there may still be those who remember that in the past the plastic was "replaced" by raffia fibers, fibers that come from the raffia palm. The tree is impressively large in its paws
which reach a length of 9 meters - from which relaxation fibers are peeled
An inflorescence column 3 meters long.
This inflorescence column is bent downwards at its base, which makes it resemble (in the eyes of the inhabitants) towards a huge male species. After flowering in masses of tiny (yellow-) flowers, the seeds are formed covered with a scaly shell that looks like a very beautiful pinecone that remains shiny and hard (reddish-brown) for many years. In Madagascar (where it originates) the trunk of the tree is used for construction as central beams, and the leaves (which are long and strong) as material for building (walls and roofs) (as a substitute for bamboo branches). By grinding the flowering stem (before flowering) they produce flour rich in starch which is used as an addition to grain flour for baking bread, The fibers of the leaves are used as material for plaiting mats, various covers, hats, and more.
From the boiled leaves a substance is extracted which is used for polishing shoes and polishing wooden floors. Of course, the combination of the shape of the flowering stem and the special seeds led to the development of different beliefs: men can increase their skills (in bed) with the palm seed as their head. Lactating women can increase milk yield by placing the sperm under the breasts. How useful the "treatment" is is not clear, but anyone who has seen the special seed will understand the belief or at least present the seed for show and ornament. J

Hyphaene crinita
Another and different palm, also known in our region since it reaches as far as Eilat, because of the shape of its trunks it is called in many languages ​​in Africa "sleeping palm". In Africa, the stilt palm (various species) accompanies flowing water in hot and dry areas. The shape in which the trunks of the tree split makes it easy to identify it from a distance, the fruit of the palm tree grows in clusters where each fruit is as hard as a stone, the size of a tennis ball, shiny brown in color, the seed (after you manage to break and crack the shell) is round, the size and color of a ping-pong ball, its taste is somewhat similar For a coconut, near Lamu (Kenya) I tasted a fruit that was soft enough to sink my teeth into and it tasted like a apple. Although it has no significant nutritional value, the fruit serves as a kind of "crackers" for elephants and baboons,
The elephants are considered to be the main distributors of this palm, two typical birds of its environment, between its paws is a wagtail that builds simple nests in the branches of the paws
A weevil that sticks its eggs to the palms of the palm and hatches almost vertically
The uses for humans are varied: buttons and figurines are made from the hard seed, the leaves are used to weave baskets and mats, the pods are used as thatch for temporary residences, by scraping the fruit peel a brown ginger-flavored powder is obtained which is used to season foods and is considered a (sexual) stimulant. Tribesmen in southern Africa pull out the palm fronds, harvest the lower part and prepare a delicious salad from it, others bury the seeds in the ground and light a fire (flat) which stimulates germination, the sprouts are harvested and prepare a salad (asparagus flavor). The most common (and harmful) use is the production of resin: after burning the low vegetation around the tree, the palm is cut down (slightly below the top), leaving a cone shape at the end of the stump, with the cone carved grooves that lead to the tool
Container tied around, the fire increased the flow of resin that flows upwards and collects
In vessels, the liquid has a sweet and satisfying taste, but its main use is to create a drink
Alcohol that is obtained after fermentation - palm wine - the liquid drips from a cut tree for about two weeks
There are trees that produce about 60 liters
And after about a year it is possible to produce a little more liquid - by repeatedly burning the grass close to the stump, even though in the case of (natural) fires the stand palm is not damaged due to its height and (relative) resistance to fire, after all the "treatment" described the final result for the palm is of course Fatal drying.

myarrh
commiphora
More - Komipura
A tree - a shrub that does not stand out in the field despite its importance and despite being common and covering large areas (North East Africa - in semi-desert areas) is not prominent because most of the year it stands dry, it is covered with tiny leaves only after rains, after a white bloom it returns to a dry and spiky appearance. In the areas where the bush grows, it is used mainly for fencing the villages and the sheep and cattle camps. The "experts" who know the plant know how to cut grooves in it to collect the resin that is used as "gum", as well as as a "universal" medicine for the healing of all kinds of aches and pains, both external and internal, along the lines of "Amor What hurts and I'll make you a commiphora medicine": soothes itchy skin, soothes throat infections, supports the natural immune system, is used as a mouthwash, and to prevent gum sensitivity, with the correct botanical-historical identification, that is, with the myrrh in our sources, it is indeed a species of commiphora, since its uses are many; Preservation of wine, preservation of (internal) body parts in Egyptian culture, use as a designer (surface) for perfumes and insect repellents The Greeks and Romans used myrrh to heal wounds as well as for ingestion as a medicine to ease digestive problems and to regulate the female cycle, myrrh was also known as a cure for external infections including gonorrhea and leprosy, and in addition It was known as a means of treating aging skin and strengthening the mind. In chemical tests, it became clear that there are indeed antibacterial substances in commephora, as well as substances that stimulate the body's natural immune system, so that all traditional treatments have a solid scientific basis.
Today, the better quality resin is produced in Sudan, Somalia and Oman, the raw resin is sent to markets in India where it is sorted and prepared for shipment to various pharmaceutical manufacturers who mix the resin with oils
.EchinaceaOthers and supplements
Or sell it as natural as a panacea

euphorbia
Candelbera milkshake
Prominent among the milkweeds is the menorah milkweed.
As its name so is its appearance, like a menorah or a huge menorah with many reeds
, another milkweed that originates in South America, is used as a source of latex, a raw material for making natural rubber. Let's go back to Africa and the lamprey: like all the menorahs, this tree is considered poisonous and inedible, yet colobus monkeys and beavers happily gnaw on it
the buds and flowers and the poison does not seem to affect them, Y
I have heard a claim that after every Halablov feast the monkeys change their position
And eating acacia fruits, the tannin levels contradict the milkweed poison? J
In any case, the toxic properties of milkweed are known to rural doctors and many of them extract the "milk" and use it mainly to remove tumors and to treat various external ulcers, a less common use is the form in which hunters extract the "milk". After boiling, the pulp is applied to arrows that are used to hunt small animals
A poisoned arrow that hits the target releases the poison into the bloodstream and beyond
For several minutes the hunted is paralyzed
Spathodea campanulata
Baton de sorcerer
Children play with the buds as "water guns" and the seed pods as boats for the competition. Because of its impressive appearance from relations with the tree magical properties and in West Africa it is called "the sorcerer's staff". Although this tree does not have unique beneficial uses, but as the little prince said "it is beautiful - therefore useful"! J