A medium to large, semi-deciduous to deciduous tree, up to 25m tall. Rounded crown. The leaves, 3-whorled, are grouped at the tips of branches. The individual leaves are opposite compound with 1 terminal leaflet. The leaflets are hard and the margins wavy. The bottom leaflets are the smallest with the top ones the biggest. The bark is normally smooth but it flakes on older trees.
The stunning, dark-red, trumpet shaped flowers occurs in long drooping sprays, up to 12 flowers per spray. It flowers in early spring. Fruit bats are thought to pollinate the flowers.

The fruit are huge, gray-brown and sausage shaped, hence the common name of the tree. They can be up to 1 meter long and 18cm in diameter and they weigh up to 12 kilograms! The colour of the wood is light brown and it is moderately heavy. The wood is used for dugout canoes in Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia.

The flowers and fruit of the Sausage Tree is always an eye-catcher and conversation piece. The fruit is toxic but is used in traditional medicine to treat skin disorders, ulcers and sores. The bark and roots are also used in traditional medicine. Some modern skin ointments are prepared from fruit extracts. Research has shown that the fruit has got antibacterial properties.
The leaves are sometimes browsed by elephant and kudu. Kudu, impala and njala eat the fallen flowers. The fruit is sometimes eaten by baboons and bushpigs.

In times of famine the seeds are roasted and eaten.

Kigelia africana is easily propagated from seed. I`ve found the seed easy to germinate, even with seeds taken from old fruit. It seems as if the viability of the seeds decrease faster once they are removed from the fruit.

Germinate the seeds in a well draining mix such as pure river sand or vercumilite/perlite mix. Cover the seed with a thin layer of the germination mix. If kept moist, the seeds should germinate within 2 to 4 weeks. They transplant easily and will grow quickly once planted in a large container. The growth rate under normal conditions (warm summers and frost free winters) is about 1 meter per year. The tree is frost sensitive but it will survive in colder areas if it is protected for the first 3 to 5 years.

The root system is invasive. The tree should not be planted where vehicles might park under them as falling fruit can cause considerable damage!

Medicinal
Bonsai

Worsboom (Afrikaans)
Modukguhlu (Northern Sotho)
umVunguta (Zulu)
Muvevha (Venda)