Desert Date. Desert date, Soapberry tree
Balanites aegyptiaca

Family: Zygophyllaceae

What it is like

Balanites aegyptiaca is an evergreen Tree growing to 6 m (19ft) by 4 m (13ft) at a slow rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10. The flowers are pollinated by Insects. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist or wet soil.

Height (m): 6

Where it is found

Found in a variety of habitats, growing best in low-lying, level alluvial sites with deep sandy loam and uninterrupted access to water such as valley floors, riverbanks or the foot of rocky slopes.

Africa - most of the drier areas except the far south, extending to Arabia.

Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Algeria, Angola, Arabia, Asia, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central Africa, Chad, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, East Africa, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, India, Israel, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kenya, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Myanmar, Namibia, Netherlands Antilles, Niger, Nigeria, North Africa, Pakistan, Palestine, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, Sahara, Sahel, Saudi Arabia, SE Asia, Senegal, Somalia, Southern Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, West Africa, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How it is used

Food

Rating: 3

The fleshy pulp of both unripe and ripe fruit is edible and can be eaten dried or fresh. It has a slightly astringent taste and can be purgative in larger quantities. The fruit is processed into a drink and sweetmeats in Ghana, an alcoholic liquor in Nigeria, a soup ingredient in Sudan. The ellipsoid fruit is up to 4cm long. Brown or pale brown when fully ripe, with a brittle coat enclosing a brown or brown-green sticky pulp and a hard stone seed. Young leaves and tender shoots are used as a vegetable. They are prepared by boiling and pounding, and are then fried or mixed with fat. The flowers are a supplementary food in West Africa and a flavouring in Nigeria. They are sucked in order to obtain their nectar. A greenish-yellow to orange-red resin is produced from the stems. It is sucked and chewed when fresh. The kernels produce an edible oil used for cooking. The oil remains stable when heated and has a high smoking point, and therefore its free fatty acid content is low. Its scent and taste are acceptable. The seed contains up to 50% oil.

Oil: Oil

Seed: includes nuts, cereals, peas and beans.

Stem: this often intergrades into leaves.

Drink: not including plant saps, tea or coffee substitutes.

Medicine

Rating: 2

It is traditionally used in treatment of various ailments including jaundice, intestinal worm infection, wounds, malaria, syphilis, epilepsy, dysentery, constipation, diarrhea, hemorrhoid, stomach aches, asthma, and fever. It contains protein, lipid, carbohydrate, alkaloid, saponin, flavonoid, and organic acid. The roots are purgative and vermifuge. A decoction of the root is used to treat malaria. The roots are boiled in a soup to be used in the treatment of oedema and stomach pains. They are also used as an emetic. The bark is purgative and vermifuge. An infusion of the bark is used to treat heartburn. The bark is used to deworm cattle in Rajasthan. Wood gum, mixed with maize meal porridge, is used to treat chest pains. The plant is a potential source of steroidal sapogenins (diosgenin) for the hemisynthesis of corticosteroids.

Antiasthmatic: Treats asthma.

Antidiarrhoeal: Provides symptomatic relief for diarrhoea. Also see Astringent.

Antiperiodic: Counteracts recurring illnesses such as malaria.

Dysentery: Used in treating dysentery - an infection of the intestines that causes diarrhoea containing blood or mucus.

Emetic: Induces vomiting.

Epilepsy: Used in the treatment of Epilepsy - a disorder in which nerve cell activity in the brain is disturbed, causing seizures.

Febrifuge: Reduces fevers.

Malaria: Treats malaria - an acute febrile illness caused by Plasmodium parasites spread to people through the bites of mosquitos.

Purgative: A drastic laxative causing a cleansing or watery evacuation of the bowels, usually with a griping pain.

Stomachic: Aids and improves the action of the stomach.

Vermifuge: Expels and kills internal parasites.

Other

Rating: 3

Agroforestry Uses: The usually evergreen behaviour potentially makes this plant an attractive element to introduce into shelterbelts, although because of its slow growth, it is not suitable as a principal species. Its thorny habit makes this tree a useful plant for fencing and hedging. Other Uses An oil obtained from the seed has been recommended for the manufacture of soap. A strong fibre is obtained from the bark. A greenish-yellow to orange-red resin is produced from the stems. It is used as a glue for sticking feathers onto arrow shafts and spearheads and in the repair of handle cracks and arrows. The fruit and bark contain saponins. An emulsion made from them is lethal to the freshwater snails that are the host of miracidia and cercaria stages of bilharzia and to a water flea that acts as a host to the guinea worm. The seeds are used for rosary beads and necklaces. The pale yellow or yellowish-brown wood is fine-grained, compact, hard, durable and easily worked. The heartwood and sapwood are not clearly differentiated. It shows no serious seasoning defects and no tendency towards surface checking or splitting. The wood saws cleanly and easily, planes without difficulty to a smooth finish and is easy to chisel. It glues firmly and takes a clear varnish. The timber has traditionally been a minor product, it is made into yokes, wooden spoons, pestles, mortars, handles, stools and combs. The usually small log size and the prevalence of stem fluting makes sawmill processing difficult. The wood is good firewood; it produces considerable heat and very little smoke, making it particularly suitable for indoor use. It produces high-quality charcoal, and it has been suggested that the nutshell is suitable for industrial activated charcoal. The calorific value is estimated at 4600 kcal/kg.

Adhesive: Glues.

Beads: Used as necklaces etc.

Biomass: Provides a large quantity of plant material that can be converted into fuel etc.

Charcoal: Used for fuel, drawing, deodorant, filter, fertilizer etc.

Fencing: Plants that can be used for fencing.

Fibre: Used for making cloth, rope, paper etc.

Fodder: Food given to the animals (including plants cut and carried to them) rather than forage for themselves.

Fuel: Usually wood, plant materials that have been mentioned as being a good fuel.

Hedge: Plants that can be grown as hedges.

Oil: Vegetable oils have many uses, as lubricants, lighting, soap and paint making, waterproofing etc. This does not include the edible oils unless they are also mentioned as having other uses.

Resin: Used in perfumery, medicines, paints, soap making etc. This also includes turpentine, which is extracted from many resins and used as a preservative, water proofer etc,

Shelterbelt: Wind resistant plants than can be grown to provide shelter in the garden etc.

Soap making: Plants used as an ingredient in making soaps. Does not include the essential oils, dyes and oils that are also used in making soap.

Wood: A list of the trees and shrubs that are noted for having useful wood.

Fodder: Bank: Fodder banks are plantings of high-quality fodder species. Their goal is to maintain healthy productive animals. They can be utilized all year, but are designed to bridge the forage scarcity of annual dry seasons. Fodder bank plants are usually trees or shrubs, and often legumes. The relatively deep roots of these woody perennials allow them to reach soil nutrients and moisture not available to grasses and herbaceous plants.

Industrial Crop: Biomass: Three broad categories: bamboos, resprouting woody plants, and giant grasses. uses include: protein, materials (paper, building materials, fibers, biochar etc.), chemicals (biobased chemicals), energy - biofuels

Management: Coppice: Cut to the ground repeatedly - resprouting vigorously. Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.

Management: Standard: Plants grow to their standard height. Harvest fruit, seeds, or other products. Non-Destructive management systems.

Other Systems: Parkland: Africa - Trees scattered throughout cropland. An Irregular intercropping system.

Regional Crop: These crops have been domesticated and cultivated regionally but have not been adopted elsewhere and are typically not traded globally, Examples in this broad category include perennial cottons and many nuts and staple fruits.

Staple Crop: Protein-oil: (16+ percent protein, 16+ percent oil). Annuals include soybeans, peanuts, sunflower seeds. Perennials include seeds, beans, nuts, and fruits such as almond, Brazil nut, pistachio, walnut, hazel, and safou.

Fodder: Bank: Fodder banks are plantings of high-quality fodder species. Their goal is to maintain healthy productive animals. They can be utilized all year, but are designed to bridge the forage scarcity of annual dry seasons. Fodder bank plants are usually trees or shrubs, and often legumes. The relatively deep roots of these woody perennials allow them to reach soil nutrients and moisture not available to grasses and herbaceous plants.

Industrial Crop: Biomass: Three broad categories: bamboos, resprouting woody plants, and giant grasses. uses include: protein, materials (paper, building materials, fibers, biochar etc.), chemicals (biobased chemicals), energy - biofuels

Management: Coppice: Cut to the ground repeatedly - resprouting vigorously. Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.

Management: Standard: Plants grow to their standard height. Harvest fruit, seeds, or other products. Non-Destructive management systems.

Other Systems: Parkland: Africa - Trees scattered throughout cropland. An Irregular intercropping system.

Regional Crop: These crops have been domesticated and cultivated regionally but have not been adopted elsewhere and are typically not traded globally, Examples in this broad category include perennial cottons and many nuts and staple fruits.

Staple Crop: Protein-oil: (16+ percent protein, 16+ percent oil). Annuals include soybeans, peanuts, sunflower seeds. Perennials include seeds, beans, nuts, and fruits such as almond, Brazil nut, pistachio, walnut, hazel, and safou.

Carbon Farming: Plants that can be a critical part of the solution to climate problems. The Carbon Farming Solution - Eric Toensmeier.

Coppice: A traditional method of woodland management which exploits the capacity of many species of trees to put out new shoots from their stump or roots if cut down.

Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.

Hedge: Hedge

How it is grown

A plant of the arid and sub-arid tropics and subtropics, where it is found at elevations up to 2,300 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 20 - 35c, but can tolerate 15 - 41c. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 300 - 800mm, but tolerates 200 - 1,700mm. Dislikes humid climates. Grows best in deep sands, sandy clay loams, sandy loams or clays. Plants are intolerant of shade after they pass the seedling stage. Prefers a pH in the range 7 - 8, tolerating 6.5 - 8.5. The plant can become a weed. A slow-growing tree, reaching a height of 1 - 3 metres after 3 years; 2 - 5 metres after 8 years. Fruiting commences when plants are about 5 - 8 years old, the yield increasing until they are around 25 years old. The fruit apparently takes at least 1 year to mature and ripen. Desert date coppices and pollards well, and can regenerate after lopping and heavy browsing. The fruit is in high demand as a food, which gives it high economic value; therefore, little fruit and thus few seeds are left for natural regeneration of the species. Fruiting and foliage production usually occur at the height of the dry season, though this can vary. The tree withstands grass fires.

Propagating it: Seeds may be collected from fruit that is being processed for other purposes, from dung, and directly from the trees. Soaking in water for some hours and then stirring vigorously separates the stones from the pulp. Seed germination can be improved by immersing the seeds in boiling water for 7 - 10 minutes then cooling then slowly. The effect that passage through an animal’s intestinal tract has on germination is unclear. However, seeds are said to germinate readily, although with some difference associated with date of collection. Seed storage behaviour is orthodox; viability can be maintained for 2 years in air-dry storage at cool temperatures or for several years in hermetic storage at 3°c with 6 - 10% mc. Root suckers. Produced abundantly.

Best place to grow:

Habit: Tree

Hardiness: 10-12

Growth: Slow

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: No shade

Moisture: Moist, wet

Things to keep in mind

The plant contains saponins. Although poisonous, saponins are poorly absorbed by the human body and so most pass through without harm. Saponins are quite bitter and can be found in many common foods such as some beans. They can be removed by carefully leaching in running water. Thorough cooking, and perhaps changing the cooking water once, will also normally remove most of them. However, it is not advisable to eat large quantities of food that contain saponins. Saponins are much more toxic to some creatures, such as fish, and hunting tribes have traditionally put large quantities of them in streams, lakes etc in order to stupefy or kill the fish.

The plant can become a weed

Its other names

Local names

Ader, Adogor, Aduwa, Arraronyit, Baddan, Baddanno, Bangbaalu, Bedena, Bito, Bizo, Cheure, Domoko, Dyemo, Ecomai, Egyptian myrobalan, Ekorete, Eroronyit, Ganyamda, Gari, Ghossa, Goot, Hangala, Hangalta, Hankalta, Hawi, Heglig, Heglieg, Hidjihi, Hidjilit, Hingan, Hinganabet, Hingot, Hingota, Hingua, Ingudi, Kasalusalu, Kielege, Kielega, Kiti, Korak, Kudekuda, Kulan, Kullen, Kuri, Lalob, Laloub, Logwat, Logwat, Lubwoti, Lugba, Lungoswa, Maghe, Mduguya, Mfwankomo, Mjirya, Mjunju, Mklete, Mkonga, Mkumudwe, Mng'onga, Mnyra, Model, Modha, Mohoromo, Msalu, Mulului, Muongo, Murtoki, Musongole, Muvambangoma, Mwambangoma, Nanjunda, Njienjia, Nulu, Nyahoko, Nyunguyu, Odhto, Ol-ngoswa, Olg'oswa, Olngoswa, Othoo, Pulupulu, Quud, Regorea, Sadhto, Segene, Seguene, Shifaraoul, Simple thorned torchwood, Sump, Taichot, Tborag, Teboraq, Teboragh, Thoo, Thorn tree, Thou, Tira, Too, Torchwood, Tunywo, Umgobandlovu, UmHulu, Zachun-oil tree, Zegene

Synonyms

Agialida aegyptiaca Kuntze Balanites ferox G.Don Balanites racemosa Chiov. Balanites roxburghii Planch. Ximenia aegyptiaca L.