''Balanites rotundifolia'', known in Swahili as Mbamba ngoma is a spiny bush or small tree from eastern Africa and southern

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

. It is a member of the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae.

Description

''Balanites rotundifolia'' is a small tree or shrub with a multi-stemmed growth form and spiny branches which grows to 2-5m. The small, round or heart shaped leaves are green, rather hairy, grow in pairs and lack stalks. The stout thorns are green, straight and grow to 3 cm in length. The greenish white flowers grow from the thorns and the small hairy fruit is 2 cm in length. When the fruit is ripe it is orange-yellow in colour.

Distribution

''Balanites rotundifolia'' is found in eastern Africa from

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 ...

and Somaliland into Sudan, and also in

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

, specifically

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

Habitat and ecology

''Balanites rotundifolia'' occurs in arid tree savanna or scrub; semi-desert scrub; deciduous bushland and open woodland. It is often found growing in thin soils over lava or near rivers; it can be the dominant species in some habitats such as

raised beach A raised beach, coastal terrace,Pinter, N (2010): 'Coastal Terraces, Sealevel, and Active Tectonics' (educational exercise), from 2/04/2011/ref> or perched coastline is a relatively flat, horizontal or gently inclined surface of marine origin, ...

es over

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

s. Fruiting in Kenya occurs in February and in October and November. Often grows in association with

Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Austral ...

Commiphora ''Commiphora'' is the most species-rich genus of flowering plants in the frankincense and myrrh family, Burseraceae. The genus contains approximately 190 species of shrubs and trees, which are distributed throughout the (sub-) tropical regions of A ...

Combretum ''Combretum'', the bushwillows or combretums, make up the type genus of the family Combretaceae. The genus comprises about 272 species of trees and shrubs, most of which are native to Tropics, tropical and southern Africa, about 5 to Madagascar ...

in arid areas. The flowers are pollinated by bees.

Uses

Fruit

The ripe fruit has an edible and sweet pulp, the ripe fruits are either picked from the tree or gathered from the ground. The fruits are eaten as a snack, particularly by herdsmen. The seeds are edible if they are boiled for 3–4 hours, they are normally eaten with milk. The fruit pulp is fermented to make a local brew.

Smoking

The wood is used to smoke food for flavour and to sterilise milk containers.

Gum

''Balanites rotundifolia'' is the source of a gum resin called '' Hanjigoad'', which is used for chewing and is collected as tears or globular pieces.

Wood

The wood is used as firewood and to make charcoal. It is fashioned into poles, tool handles, carvings, utensils (e.g. head rests, wooden spoons and combs).

Fodder

The leaves and shoots provide fodder for domestic animals in very arid areas.

Other uses

It is used for live fencing and the cut branches are used to make fences, it is also planted in soil conservation projects. There are no known medicinal applications.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q12249813 rotundifolia Edible plants Trees of Africa Flora of Northeast Tropical Africa Flora of East Tropical Africa