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| A [[Sausage Tree]] or scientific name as Kigelia africana is native in [[South Africa]]. It is very poisonous to eat. | | A [[Sausage Tree]] or scientific name as Kigelia africana is native in [[South Africa]]. It is very poisonous to eat. |
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| '''''Kigelia''''' is a genus of [[flowering plant]]s in the family [[Bignoniaceae]]. The genus comprises only one species, '''''Kigelia africana''''', which occurs throughout tropical [[Africa]] from [[Eritrea]] and [[Chad]] south to northern [[South Africa]], and west to [[Senegal]] and [[Namibia]]. The Kigelia grows a fruit that grows up to 2 feet long, weighs about 15 lbs, and looks like sausage.
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| ==Etymology==
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| [[File:Leaves I IMG 4112.jpg|left|thumb|Leaf in [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]]]]
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| [[File:Kigeliaflower.JPG|thumb|Flower]]
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| [[File:Kigelia-Africana-Fruit.JPG|thumb|Sausage tree fruit]]
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| [[File:Kigelia africana Bark.jpg|thumb|Bark in [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]]]]
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| The genus name comes from the Mozambican [[Bantu language|Bantu]] name, ''kigeli-keia'', while the common names '''sausage tree'''<ref name=Saini>{{cite journal|url=http://nopr.niscair.res.in/bitstream/123456789/4043/1/NPR%208(2)%20190-197.pdf|title=''Kigelia africana'' (Lam.) Benth. — an overview|author=Sangita Saini, Harmeet Kaur, Bharat Verma, Ripudaman, and S. K. Singh|journal=Natural Product Radiance|volume=8|issue=2|year=2009|pages=190–197}}</ref> and '''cucumber tree'''<ref name=Saini/> refer to the long, [[sausage]]-like fruit. Its name in [[Afrikaans]] ''worsboom'' also means sausage tree, and its [[Arabic]] name means "the father of kit bags" (Roodt 1992).
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| ==Growth==
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| It is a [[tree]] growing up to 20 m (66 feet) tall. The bark is grey and smooth at first, peeling on older trees. It can be as thick as 6 mm on a 15-cm branch (Roodt 1992). The wood is pale brown or yellowish, undifferentiated and not prone to cracking (Roodt 1992).
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| The tree is [[evergreen]] where rainfall occurs throughout the year, but [[deciduous]] where there is a long [[dry season]]. The [[leaf|leaves]] are opposite or in whorls of three, 12 to 20 inches (30–50 cm) long, [[pinnate]], with six to ten oval leaflets up to eight inches (20 cm) long and 2.25 inches (6 cm) broad; the terminal leaflet can be either present or absent. The [[flower]]s (and later the fruit) hang down from branches on long flexible stems (2-6 metres long). Flowers are produced in [[panicle]]s; they are bell-shaped (similar to those of the [[Spathodea|African tulip tree]] but broader and much darker and more waxy), orange to maroon or purplish green, and about four inches (10 cm )wide. Individual flowers do not hang down but are oriented horizontally. Some birds are attracted to these flowers and the strong stems of each flower make ideal footholds. Their scent is most notable at night indicating that they are adapted to pollination by [[bat]]s, which visit them for pollen and nectar. They also remain open by day however, and are freely visited by many insect pollinators, particularly large species such as carpenter bees.
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| The [[fruit]] is a woody [[berry (botany)|berry]] from 12 to 39 inches (30–100 cm) long <ref>{{cite book |last= Huxley | first= Anthony | title= The New Royal Hort. Soc. Dictionary of Gardening | location= New York | publisher= Stockton Press |volume= 2 | page= 735 |}}</ref> and up to seven inches (18 cm) broad, but eight inches (20 cm) has been reported. <ref> {{cite book | last= Lindley | first= John and Thomas Moore | date= 1866 | title= A Treasury of Botany | location= London | publisher= Longmans, Green & Co. | volume= 2 | page= 647 |}}</ref> Typically it weighs between 11 and 22 pounds (5 and 10 kg) but occasionally up to 26 pounds (12 kg)<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.killerplants.com/weird-plants/20020307.asp | title=Killer Plants | last= Vandaveer | first= Chelsie | date= March 7, 2002 | access-date= 14 December 2004 | }}</ref>, and hangs down on long, rope-like [[peduncle (botany)|peduncles]]. The fruit pulp is fibrous and pulpy, and contains numerous [[seed]]s. It is eaten by several species of [[mammal]]s, including [[baboon]]s, [[bushpig]]s, [[savannah elephant]]s, [[giraffe]]s, [[hippopotamus]]es, [[monkey]]s, and [[Old World porcupine|porcupines]]. The seeds are dispersed in their dung. The seeds are also eaten by [[brown parrot]]s and [[brown-headed parrot]]s, and the foliage by elephants and [[greater kudu]] (Joffe 2003; del Hoyo et al. 1997). Introduced specimens in Australian parks are very popular with [[cockatoo]]s. The trees are also found in large numbers in Ingraham Institute NH-24 campus, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh in India. Whether it is the same species has not yet been verified.
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| ==Cultivation and uses==
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| The fresh fruit is [[poison]]ous and strongly [[purgative]]; fruit are prepared for consumption by drying, roasting or fermentation (Joffe 2003; McBurney 2004). In central Kenya, the dried fruits are used to make an alcoholic beverage called Muratina which is a core components in cultural events in Central Kenya. ''Kigelia'' is also used in a number of skin care products. In Botswana, the timber is used for [[makoro]]s, yokes and oars (Roodt 1992).
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| The tree is widely grown as an [[Ornamental plant|ornamental tree]] in tropical regions for its decorative flowers and unusual fruit. Planting sites should be selected carefully, as the falling fruit can cause serious injury to people and damage vehicles parked under the trees.
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| ==Vernacular names==
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| In [[Kikuyu language|Kikuyu]]: {{Lang|ki|''mũratina''}};<ref name="lnk2016">Kamau, Loice Njeri et al. (2016). "[http://hdl.handle.net/11295/100882 Ethnobotanical survey and threats to medicinal plants traditionally used for the management of human diseases in Nyeri County, Kenya]", p. 6.</ref> [[Swahili language|Swahili]]: ''mbungati'', ''mwegea'', ''mnyegea'', ''mvongonya'';<ref>''Standard Swahili Dictionary'' Oxford University Press, date unknown</ref> [[Hindi]] ''balam kheera'', ''hathi bailan''; [[Luo languages|Luo]] ''yago''; [[Malayalam]] ''shiva kundalam''; [[Tamil language|Tamil]] ''yaanai pudukan''; and [[Yoruba language|Yoruba]] ''pandoro''.
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| [[Tugen_people|Tugen]](kalenjin tribe): Rotinwo
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| == See also ==
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| [[Trees]]
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| * [[]]
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| * [[]]
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| * [[]]
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| == External links ==
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| * [www.bbc.co.uk]
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