''Balanites pedicellaris'', the small green-thorn or small torchwood is a small tree or shrub from

Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...

. It is a member of the caltrop family

Zygophyllaceae Zygophyllaceae is a family of flowering plants that contains the bean-caper and caltrop. The family includes around 285 species in 22 genera. Plants in the family Zygophyllaceae may be trees, shrubs, or herbs. They are often found in dry habit ...

Description

''Balanites pedicellaris'' is a multi-stemmed shrub or small tree, although some specimens may have a single fluted trunk. The branches are yellowish or greyish-green, bearing simple green spines. The leaves are alternate or grow on the spines, bifoliolate; the leaflets

obovate The following terms are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade is divided into two or more leaflets) ...

, pale green, rather fleshy, down covered with a short downy petiole. The greenish-white flowers have 6 petals and are bunched in small, axillary clusters, approximately 1.4 cm in diameter. The fruit is a

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is a type of fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pip'' (UK), ''pit'' (US), ''stone'', or ''pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed ...

, which is round or ellipsoid and normally flattened on either end, it measures 1·2–2·5 × 1·5–2 cm., the unripe fruit is usually covered in downy hairs but these are lost on the ripe fruit which is orange in colour. Grows up to 6m tall.

Distribution

''Balanites pedicellaris'' occurs from

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

and

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

south through eastern Africa to

KwaZulu Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Habitat

''Balanites pedicellaris'' is found in dry woodland and scrub and on alluvial soils on floodplains, where there are scattered trees.

Uses

The fruit is eaten but is not sought after. The fresh fruits are toxic and have a bitter taste, consumption causes thirst, dizziness and vomiting. An infusion made from the roots is used to treat fever and

diarrhoea Diarrhea (American English), also spelled diarrhoea or diarrhœa (British English), is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements in a day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration d ...

, the boiled root infusion is frequently added to milk given to children. The root infusion is used as an emetic by the

Turkana people The Turkana are a Nilotic people native to the Turkana County in northwest Kenya, a semi-arid climate region bordering Lake Turkana in the east, Pokot, Rendille and Samburu people to the south, Uganda to the west, South Sudan to the north-w ...

. The seeds are cooked and are an important source of food in northern Kenya, particularly in Turkana. The leaves are used as browse for domestic animals while the wood is used for carvings and to make torches.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15271089 pedicellaris Trees of Africa Flora of Northeast Tropical Africa Flora of East Tropical Africa Flora of South Tropical Africa Trees of Botswana Flora of Mozambique Flora of Rwanda Flora of Zimbabwe Edible plants Plants used in traditional African medicine