Medicinal Plants of Namibia | Page 31

Plant:!Kigelia&africana!!
Family:!Bignoniaceae45!!
!
Common(names:!!
|Tollo22!!!
Divunguvungu22!!
Ghuvunguvungu47!!
Kazungula22!!
Leberwurstbaum22!!
Mupolata22!!
Mupolota22!!
Mupungupungu22!!
Sausage!tree22,!47!!
Uvhunguvhungu22,!47!!
Vugurungu22!!
Vunguvungu22!!
Worsboom22,!47!!
Wurstbaum22,!47!!
!
Range:((
K.&africana!occurs!in!a!savanna!woodland!habitat!of!Namibia!along!the!Okavango!
River!and!east!Caprivi!where!above!ground!water!in!the!form!of!rivers!are!
prevalent13,!22.!!!
!
Diagnostic(characteristics:(
These!trees!can!grow!more!than!8!m!high13.!!Being!
semiSdeciduous,!the!tree!seemingly!always!has!
leaves!with!newer!leaves!appearing!in!August13.!!
The!huge!leaves!of!the!sausage!tree!are!compound!
with!three!to!four!leaflet!pairs13.!!These!elliptical!
broad!dark!green!leaves!are!shiny!on!the!surface!
but!pale!and!softly!downed!underneath13.!!Margins!
tend!to!be!entire!on!these!stiff!leaves13.!!!!
!
Large!upward!facing!flowers!with!deep!burgundy!
petals!and!showy!yellow!stamen!occur!from!
August!to!December13.!!These!beautiful!flowers!
produce!large,!heavy!fruits!shaped!like!slim!
baobab!fruits13.!!The!fruit!hang!downward!from!a!
stalk!that!is!nearly!1m!in!length13.!!From!October!
to!March!and!May!to!June,!these!fruits!resembling!sausage!develop!from!flowers13.!!!