Bauhinia reticulata D.C.

Leguminosae (Cesalpiniaceae)

Description

A shrub which may take the shape of a small tree with an intricate canopy, usually found in valleys and more humid zones. Leaves greyish green, glabrous, persistant. Flowers clustered in short hairy racemes; white, pink striped petals. Abundant fruits with long, chocolate brown pods, 15-25 cm long and 3.5-5 cm wide, ligneous, hanging, rippled, almost glabrous. The pods remain a long time persistant on the shrubs and eventually fall on the ground without opening.

Distribution

The species is found across Africa from Senegal to the Sudan and Ethiopia, it is an exclusively Sahelo-Sudanese species, very common in Chad. It is sometimes found in flooded valleys in sparse populations of small round-shaped trees. In its shrub habit, it is found in thalwegs, on sand dunes and on soils with an iron hardpan in the valley of the Niger River. This species may become an invader in fallows and may then constitute dense thickets.

Products and uses

The leaves, having a slightly sour flavour, are used to make drinks and lotions to cure colds. Bark fibres are used for rope making. Pods are burnt under straw bee-hives before these are placed in trees (very delicate aromatic scent). The pods are pounded and boiled in water to prepare cold drinks. They are rich in tartaric acid.

Main References

Baumer, M. 1983. Notes on Trees and Shrubs in Arid and Semi-arid Regions. FAO/UNEP programme “Ecological Management of Arid and Semi-Arid Rangelands in Africa, Near and Middle East” (EMASAR Phase II). 270p.