The jackalberry tree , also known as the African soot black tree , grows on blistering savanna grassland and in woods in Africa . The name comes from the seeds of the jackalberry fruit , which are often found in jackal dung . Jackalberry trees allow for an crucial source of food for the great unwashed , wildlife and fowl , while also extend a beautiful woodwind used for household good and medicinal drug .

Location

Jackalberry trees grow on termite mounds in the African savannah , also bang as tropic grasslands . They arise from Senegal and the Sudan to Namibia and the northern Transvaal . The climate in these regions is blistering year - round . Rain fall during a six- to eight - month period , then the savanna stays dry for several month , often resulting in drouth . The termite cumulation surrounding a jackalberry tree helps moisturize the tree diagram and provide it with aerated soil . Termites never eat the forest of a jackalberry tree diagram .

Description

A member of the Ebenaceae family , jackalberry tree can raise up to 80 infantry in tallness , although most of the trees grow to about 15 to 18 marvellous , agree to official at Kruger National Park in South Africa . The straight , deep grooved trunks of the large Tree grow up to 18 invertebrate foot in diam and have black - brown barque that turns grey-haired as the tree bewilder older .

propagate branches grow at the tops of the Tree , with long leaf reach up to more than 5 inches long and 3 inches wide . Young jackalberry tree diagram do not lose their leaf , but as they grow older , they cast their foliage in the give . novel pinkish - orange leaves get growing almost immediately . little , fragrant , white flowers acquire on both manlike and female trees during the showery season .

Fruit

Only female jackalberry tree produce yield that has a lemon sapidity and a chalk - like consistency . . The oval fruit reaches 1 column inch in diam and is xanthous green . Five sepals from the prime remain on the fruit . Two to six ejaculate grow inside each yield . The fruits are eaten fresh , preserved or ground into flour .

Wildlife

Fruits from the jackalberry Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree provide a food source for a variety of animals and bird . Impalas , warthogs , baboons and hornbills sight to the fruits . Other creature , including giraffes , elephants and rhinoceros , eat the leaf of the tree diagram . The bushveld emperor butterfly stroke also relies on the leaves as an significant food seed .

Uses

Varying in color from a light , reddish brown to almost black , jackalberry wood is extremely resistive against termites . masses use the hard , potent duramen to make floors and article of furniture , while the trunk is used to make canoe . Tannin found in the leaves , barque and roots works helps stop bleed . According to the University of Pretoria , a potion made from the roots of the jackalberry tree is enjoin to rid people of ringworm , feverishness and dysentery .

References

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