Capparidaceae

Description

Shrub 5-7 m high with very erect branches with smooth light grey bark, bearing coriaceous, spread or erect mat-green leaves. Leaves are lanceolate, oblong, mucronate, obtuse, or retuse at the tip; they may reach 6.5 x 1.5 cm. Lateral veins are not very conspicuous and hardly differentiated from the reticulum as a whole; the latter is either protruding underneath or sometimes obscure. The small greenish-white flowers are clustered in short, simple, terminal racemes. Fruits are spherical berries, 6-10 mm in diameter, often in groups of 3-5; rough-skinned, yellowish when mature. Aubreville (1950) links B. tenuifolia Chev. to this species, of which it seems to be a particular form, with obtuse leaf tips and an inconspicuous reticulation. Growth, blossom and fructification occur during the cool part of the dry season. This species keeps its leaves throughout the dry season.

Distribution

This is a Sahelo-Sudanese species whose area of distribution extends from the Atlantic to the Red Sea, a little further south than the area of Boscia senegalensis. It is more common in the western part of its area than in the eastern. In Senegal, the southern limit reaches the border of the Gambia and extends to the south close to the northernmost tip of Guinea, then extends to the east towards Niamey. In the Sudan, B. angustifolia is especially common around Burma (Myanmar) and the north of the Nuba Mountains in Kordofan. Requires rainfall of 200-400 mm. May grow in very arid sites, even on red soils, on laterites, or on rocky screes.

Products and uses

The foliage is sometimes consumed by camels and small livestock, especially at the time of flowering and towards the end of the dry season. Many uses connected with possession cults and medicinal practise have been reported. As can often be noted in native pharmacopia, uses are contradictory, or, at least, can hardly be reconciled. For instance, bark powder used in ablutions are supposed both to induce love from women and to give protection from wizards.

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.