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Kigelia – Kigelia africana

Across tropical Africa Kigelia africana grows in the wild on riverbanks or in woodland. It is found in Asia, Australia and the Americas where it has been introduced as an ornamental plant, which must be sited thoughtfully to avoid people and property being underneath it when its fruit of up to 10kg fall.  It is a sturdy tree growing a little wider than its height of about 25m at its maximum size. While evergreen in hospitable locations it adapts and is deciduous in areas with long dry seasons, bursting back into leaf with the onset of the wetter season.

Kigelia africana sustains the life of many creatures from insects to elephants as they feast on its leaves, flowers and fruit.  It is thought that the yellow-veined maroon flowers which hang down from the trees branches are pollinated by bats. Usually bat-pollinated plants have pale flowers. It is likely that the smell of the flowers which is unpleasant to humans is what attracts the bats. Each flower opens at night and within two days the petals fall off. A single tree can remain in flower for several months. Kigelia Africana is also known as the Sausage Tree due to the sausage-like shape of its taupe coloured fruits.  The seeds are dispersed in the dung of the many animals including giraffes and porcupines which consume the fruit. Elephants and Greater Kudu eat the leaves they can reach from the ground, while monkeys and parrots freely roam its branches to sate their hunger. People also benefit from the presence of this tree not just as source of useful timber but also the many uses it yields while growing. The pulp surrounding the seeds in the fresh fruit is not edible to humans so the seeds must first be roasted or dried to allow consumption. The fruit can also be fermented to make a beer like beverage. Pharmaceutical medication is not available to a significant proportion of the world’s population who really on traditional medicine using plants.

For hundreds of years medicinal properties of the Kigelia africana have been harnessed to treat and cure a range of conditions, in particular skin conditions. Many of these traditional uses have now been scientifically verified. This has included confirmation of its beneficial nature for the skin due to anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory properties. Extract of the fruit as used in ACQUIZHEN’s Replenishing Day Cream, Eye & Delicate Skin Serum and Nurturing Night Cream is effective applied to the skin to moisturise, firm, even skin tone, and protect against micro-organisms and sun damage.