TreeCultivatedPerennialMedicinal

Kigelia africana (Lam.) Benth.

Gul e Fanoos

Synonym: Bignonia africana Lam

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Description

Kigelia africana is a medium to large deciduous tree, usually 10–20 m tall, with a broad rounded crown. Leaves are opposite or whorled, imparipinnately compound with 3–9 large leaflets. Flowers are large, tubular, dark maroon to reddish-purple, and borne in long pendulous racemes. Fruits are massive, cylindrical, woody, sausage-shaped berries, often 30–60 cm long, hanging from long rope-like stalks.

Diagnostic Characters

Vegetative

Large compound leaves with a broad spreading crown.

Floral

Large pendulous maroon tubular flowers.

Fruit & Seed

Very large sausage-shaped woody fruits suspended on long stalks.

Distribution

Native range: Tropical Africa.

In Pakistan: Widely cultivated in Pakistan as an ornamental avenue and botanical garden tree.

Phenology

Flowering

Fruiting

Flowering: April–July Fruiting: Throughout the year after flowering

Ethnobotany & Uses

Uses

Widely planted as an ornamental tree. Fruits, bark, and leaves are extensively used in African traditional medicine. Extracts possess reported antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties.

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Where it grows on campus

South Campus2

individuals mapped across 1 zone

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Taxonomic Notes

Known as the Sausage Tree, Kigelia africana is unmistakable because of its huge pendulous sausage-shaped fruits and dark maroon flowers. The accepted name follows Flora of Pakistan, POWO, and WFO.