''Balanites glabra'' is a species of

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

, classified either as a member of the

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 ...

or the Balanitaceae. This tree is native to

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

Description

''Balanites glabra'' is a spiny shrub or tree growing to a maximum height of 9m. The bark is grey or greyish green and is rough, cork-like and fissured on the trunk but greener and smoother on the branches, the spines and young shoots are green and glabrous, becoming greyer and hairier by their second year. The leaves are teardrop shaped with the stalk attached to the tapering end (i.e.

obovate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...

.) Flower's are borne in clusters of 4, sometimes 5, on a pedicel and are yellowish green to white. The young fruit is round but becomes more ellipsoid as it ripens when it changes colour to yellow, orange or pale red. The fruit is mildly poisonous to humans and may cause fever,

diarrhoea Diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements each day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration due to fluid loss. Signs of dehydration often begin wi ...

and stomach ache.

Distribution

''Balanites glabra'' occurs in eastern Africa in

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

and northern

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

Habitat

''Balanites glabra'' occurs in deciduous bushland, wooded grassland and grassland with scattered trees between 700m and 19800m above sea level. It is usually found on loamy or clay soils, black cotton soils, infrequently on stony or sandy soils, or on lava. It can persist in degraded plant communities often occurring alongside ''

Opuntia ''Opuntia'', commonly called prickly pear or pear cactus, is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae. Prickly pears are also known as ''tuna'' (fruit), ''sabra'', ''nopal'' (paddle, plural ''nopales'') from the Nahuatl word f ...

''.

Uses

The wood of ''Balanites glabra'' is used for carvings. The leaves are used as fodder while the spiny branches make it suitable for use as fencing, either as a live or dead fence. Despite being mildly poisonous the fruits are eaten.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15539789 Fruits originating in Africa Edible plants Trees of Africa Flora of Northeast Tropical Africa Flora of East Tropical Africa Trees of Ethiopia glabra