Safaris-Botswana
Contact
Links
Safaris
Site Map
|
|
return
to: Safaris-Botswana Contact Links Safaris Site Map |
||
|
|||
|
|
Sausage Tree - Kigelia africana Apart from the Baobab, this is probably
the most frequently discussed tree of species in the Okavango Delta. It
is extremely easy to recognise, because both flowers and fruits are very
characteristic. As the common name "Sausage tree" implies, fruits
resemble huge sausages and their persistence on the tree makes it easy
identify most times of the year. The fruits can weigh up to 4 kg and camping
beneath a Sausage tree is accordingly not recommended, since they fall
to ground throughout the year and at the most unexpected times! In spring,
the exquisitely beautiful red flowers, which are borne in profusion, are
very striking. In the absence of fruit and flowers the usually unbranched,
grey, mottled stem and the wide-spreading, rounded, dense crown are identifying
features. Closer observation reveals the large, leathery, compound leaves.
The tree can grow up to 20m height. In his diary Livingstone refers to
the giant sausage tree beneath which they were camped shortly before he
saw the Victoria Falls. This was at what is today known as Kazangula,
the point where Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and the Caprivi meet. Kazangula
was named after this historic tree. One African name for the Sausage tree
means "the fat tail of a sheep', while the Arabic name means "the
father of kit bags". The fruit of the Sausage Tree is grey, smooth
in young specimens. Older bark flakes off in round discs, giving the bark
a markedly mottled appearance. Leaves are compound with 3-5 pairs of leaflets
with a terminal one. When leaves are young, they are leathery and rough
to the touch. Bright green above, pale below. Whole leaf is up to 30cm
long. It is one of the dominant species occurring on the islands in the Okavango Delta. In the dry-land Moremi it is common in the Xakanaxa, Third Bridge and Mboma Island areas, but only isolated specimens are to be found towards Khwai and Maqwee. They are more prevalent in deep, well-drained soils. |
|
|