''Anonychium'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of plant in the pea family (

Fabaceae Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...

). It includes a single species, ''Anonychium africanum'', a tree native to northern Sub-saharan Africa from Mauritania to Uganda and to Saudi Arabia. It is known by the synonym ''Prosopis africana'', and its common names include African mesquite, iron tree, ''gele'' (in

Malinke Maninka (also known as Malinke), or more precisely Eastern Maninka, is the name of several closely related languages and dialects of the southeastern Manding subgroup of the Mande language family (itself, possibly linked to the Niger–Congo ...

), ''okpehe'', and ''

somb Somb (in Serer, also ''Som'' or ''Sombe'') is a town in Senegal situated in the west of the country. History Somb figured prominently in Serer religious affairs for a long part of its history. It takes its name from the ''Somb'' tree (Latin ...

'' tree. Okpehe is the name given by the Idoma and

Igala people The Igala people are a ''West African'' ethnolinguistic group native to the region immediately south of the confluence of the Niger River, Niger and Benue River, Benue Rivers in Middle Belt, central Nigeria. The area inhabited primarily by the ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

to both the tree and its fermented seeds. All of the other derivatives such as ''okpeye'' and ''okpiye'' stem from the noun ''okpehe'' used by the Idoma and

of present day

Benue State Benue is a State in the North Central Nigeria, North Central region of Nigeria. It is popularly referred to as part of the Middle belt. It has an estimated population of about 4,253,641 in List of Nigerian states by population, the 2006 census. ...

of Nigeria. In the

Serer creation myth The Serer creation myth is the traditional creation myth of the Serer people of Senegal, the Gambia and Mauritania. Many Serers who adhere to the tenets of the Serer religion believe these narratives to be sacred. Some aspects of Serer religious ...

, it is one of the

sacred trees A sacred tree or holy tree is a tree which is considered to be sacred, or worthy of spiritual respect or reverence. Such trees appear throughout world history in various cultures including the ancient Hindu mythology, Greek mythology, Greek, Celti ...

that grew not just first, but also within the primordial swamp on Earth. Logs harvested from mature trees are one of the hardwoods used in crafting the shells of traditional djembes. Seeds of ''P. africana'' are used in Nigeria to prepare daddawa, kpaye, and okpeye, which are fermented products used as food

condiment A condiment is a preparation that is added to food, typically after cooking, to enhance the Flavoring, flavour, to complement the dish or to impart a specific flavor. Such specific flavors generally add sweetness or pungency, or sharp or piquant ...

s. Several species of bacteria especially ''

Bacillus subtilis ''Bacillus subtilis'' (), known also as the hay bacillus or grass bacillus, is a gram-positive, catalase-positive bacterium, found in soil and the gastrointestinal tract of ruminants, humans and marine sponges. As a member of the genus ''Bacill ...

'', ''

Bacillus licheniformis ''Bacillus licheniformis'' is a bacterium commonly found in the soil. It is found on bird feathers, especially chest and back plumage, and most often in ground-dwelling birds (like sparrows) and aquatic species (like ducks). It is a gram-positi ...

'', ''

Bacillus megaterium ''Priestia megaterium'' (''Bacillus megaterium'' prior to 2020) is a rod-like, Gram staining, Gram-positive, mainly aerobic, endospore, spore forming bacterium found in widely diverse habitats.De Vos, P. ''et al.'' Bergey's Manual of Systematic B ...

'', ''

Staphylococcus epidermidis ''Staphylococcus epidermidis'' is a Gram-positive bacterium, and one of over 40 species belonging to the genus ''Staphylococcus''. It is part of the human flora, normal human microbiota, typically the skin flora, skin microbiota, and less commonl ...

'' and ''

Micrococcus ''Micrococcus'', from Ancient Greek μικρός (''mikrós''), meaning "small", and κόκκος (''kókkos''), meaning "sphere", is a genus of bacteria in the Micrococcaceae family (biology), family. ''Micrococcus'' occurs in a wide range of en ...

'' spp. were found to be the most actively involved organisms in the production of okpiye. Sequencing of 16S rRNA genes of selected strains representative of the major clusters revealed that the ''Bacillus'' strains associated with okpehe fermentation were ''B. subtilis'', '' B. amyloliquefaciens'', ''

B. cereus ''Bacillus cereus'' is a Gram-positive rod-shaped bacterium commonly found in soil, food, and marine sponges. The specific name, ''cereus'', meaning "waxy" in Latin, refers to the appearance of colonies grown on blood agar. Some strains are har ...

'' and ''B. licheniformis'' (in decreasing order of incidence). The presence of

enterotoxin An enterotoxin is a protein exotoxin released by a microorganism that targets the intestines. They can be chromosomally or plasmid encoded. They are heat labile (> 60 °C), of low molecular weight and water-soluble. Enterotoxins are frequently cy ...

genes in all ''B. cereus'' strains was demonstrated by multiplex PCR. The high incidence of detection (20%) of possibly pathogenic ''B. cereus'' strains that contained enterotoxin genes indicated that these fermented foods may constitute a potential health risk. The seeds also produce a gum. The plant produces the alkaloids prosopine and prosopinine.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from1=Q121364129, from2=Q121364144, from3=Q12066488 Monotypic Fabaceae genera Trees of Africa Flora of West Tropical Africa Flora of West-Central Tropical Africa Plants described in 1893 Taxa named by Gwilym Peter Lewis