Umusebeya (Flat-Crown)
Albizia adianthifolia
A large deciduous tree to 25m with a flat, wide-spreading crown of horizontally layered branches. Its bipinnate leaves resemble maidenhair fern fronds (the source of its epithet), and it produces fluffy, sweetly scented greenish-white flower heads.
- Kinyarwanda name
- Umusebeya
- English name
- Flat-Crown
- Scientific name
- Albizia adianthifolia
- Family
- Fabaceae
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)
Habitat
Wide ecological tolerance: evergreen forest, deciduous woodland, wooded grassland and stream banks on sandy soils, 250-1,700m elevation.
Distribution
Widespread across tropical and southern Africa (Angola to Ethiopia, south to South Africa) and eastern Madagascar; confirmed present almost everywhere in Rwanda.
Uses
Traditional medicine, timber, fodder.
Ecological importance
A nitrogen-fixing legume that improves soil fertility; its fluffy, scented flowers attract pollinating insects, and it is widely used for fodder and shade.
Ibisobanuro
Ni igiti kiba hafi mu Rwanda hose. Kigira igicucu cyiza. Gitanga inkwi, kandi gikoreshwa mu nzuri z'inka.