Umurera (Ambatch Tree, Pith)
Aeschynomene elaphroxylon
A soft-wooded, semi-aquatic shrub or small tree that grows rooted in shallow lake and river margins across Africa. Its remarkably light, buoyant wood has traditionally been used to build simple rafts and fishing-net floats along Rwanda's eastern lakes and rivers.
- Kinyarwanda name
- Umurera
- English name
- Ambatch Tree, Pith
- Scientific name
- Aeschynomene elaphroxylon
- Family
- Fabaceae
Habitat
Shallow water at the edges of lakes, rivers and swamps.
Distribution
Found across tropical Africa's wetlands and lake systems; in Rwanda, notably along the eastern lakes and rivers.
Uses
Makes floats for fishing nets; trunks are lashed together to make rafts. Notably found in eastern lakes and rivers of Rwanda.
Ecological importance
Its submerged and shoreline root systems provide shelter for fish and aquatic invertebrates, and it helps stabilise soft lake-edge soils.
Ibisobanuro
Bakoresha ibiti byacyo mu kwiyobesha amafi cyangwa bagakoramo icyo bambukiraho iyo bafatanije ibiti byacyo bikareremba hejuru y'amazi.