Camel's foot leaf tree
Piliostigma reticulatum

Family: Fabaceae

What it is like

A woody evergreen shrub or small tree. It grows up to 9 m high. The trunk is short and 30 cm across. The bark is deeply cracked. The leaves are alternate and have 2 lobes. The leaf stalk is 1-4 cm long and the leaf blade is 5-12 cm long by 4-18 cm wide. It is heart shaped or rounded at the base. The flowers are of separate sexes and 2.5 cm across. The fruit is an oblong pod 15-30 cm long by 3-5 cm wide. It can be straight or twisted. It is hard and woody. There are many seeds.

Also as Caesalpinaceae.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows in clay depressions and sandy loamy soil. It grows in the Sahel. It grows in areas with a rainfall between 200-1,000 mm per year. It can grow from sea level to 2,000 m above sea level. It grows in savannah woodland. It can grow in arid places.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Chad, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, East Africa, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Sahel, Senegal, Sudan, West Africa

How it is used for food

The leaves are used for drinks. They are also used to flavour porridge. They are acidic. They are also dried. The fruit are used for drinks. The young pods are pounded and boiled. The bark and sap are used to purify water. They help coagulate cloudy matter in the water.

Edible parts

Seeds, leaves, pods, fruit, vegetable

How it is grown

Plants can be grown from seed. The seeds germinate poorly and this can be improved by soaking them in hot water overnight. Seedlings can be transplanted 5-7 weeks after sowing.

It grows slowly. It flowers in the dry season.

Its other names

Local names

Bagen gnanga, Banguin-gu, Barque, Canna, Epamambo, Fara, Kalgo, Kossey, N'toncre, Nama tene, Pouunque, Untoncre

Synonyms

Bauhinia reticulata DC.;