Entada abyssinica Steud. ex A. Rich.

Leguminosae

Common names

Description

Small, low branching tree, up to 7-12 m, with a narrow open crown. Bark fibrous and creviced grey-brown, tranversally striped, slash red with white streaks, twigs grey-brown, pubescent. Leaves large bipinnate 15-45 cm long, with 10-20 pairs of pinnae with 15-20 pairs of linear-oblong leaflets 0.4-1.2 x 0.1-0.4 cm. Leaves +/- pubescent. Flowers cream, in racemes 7-15 cm long. Pods, with an undulate margin, 7-10 x 0.7 cm glabrous, 12-15 seeds per pod, seeds two-winged, ca 4 000 per kg.

Distribution

Sudanian and Guinean savannas to the South border of the Sahel, to East and South Africa, uncommon, isolated individuals.

Crop management

Sensitive to bush fires.

Products & uses

Leaves are good fodder, wood soft and easy to work, Bast fibers used for bands, ropes, storage bins. Many medicinal and fetish uses : leaves; tonic tea, wound healing, contains rotenone and tannins, bark abortive, roots have antidotal effects against various toxic agents and fish poison (ichtyotoxic).

References

Aubréville 1950 ; Berhaut 1975 ; Hutchinson & al. 1958 ; Dalziel 1955 ; Giffard 1974a ; Kerharao & Adam 1974 ; Baumer 1975 ; Weber et al. 1977 ; Geerling 1982/88 ; Von Maydell 1983/86 ; Burkill 1995.