Prince of Wales' feathers
Brachystegia boehmii

Family: Fabaceae

What it is like

A tree. It grows 15 m tall. The bark is cracked. It is dark grey. The leaves are 8-35 cm long. The leaflets are in 15-30 overlapping pairs. The leaflets near the middle are largest. The flowers are in branched groups near the ends of branches. The fruit are pods 7-25 cm long by 3-5.5 cm wide. They are oblong and dark brown. There are up to 6 seeds. These are 15-25 mm long by 12-16 mm wide. They are oval.

Also as Caesalpinaceae.

Where it is found

It is a tropical plant. It grows on deciduous woodland on hill slopes. It grows between 900-1,600 m altitude. In Brisbane Botanical Gardens.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Angola, Australia, Botswana, Burundi, Central Africa, Congo DR, East Africa, Malawi, Mozambique, Southern Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

The inner bark is chewed.

Edible parts

Bark

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Itshabela, Mfuti, Mupfuti

Synonyms

Brachystegia ferruginea De Wild.; Brachystegia filiformis Hutch. & Burtt Davy; Brachystegia flagristipulata Taub.; Brachystegia hopkinsii Suesseng.; Brachystegia katangensis De Wild.; Brachystegia malengensis De Wild.; Brachystegia woodiana Harms;