Umuvungavungo (Sausage Tree)
Kigelia africana
A large tree (20-24m) with a rounded, spreading crown, best known for its huge bell-shaped maroon flowers hanging on long rope-like stalks, and its massive grey-brown, sausage-shaped fruit weighing several kilograms.
- Kinyarwanda name
- Umuvungavungo
- English name
- Sausage Tree
- Scientific name
- Kigelia africana
- Family
- Bignoniaceae
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)
Habitat
Riverine woodland, wooded savanna and forest margins on loamy/red clay soils, sea level to about 3,000m.
Distribution
Widespread across tropical and subtropical Africa; confirmed present in Rwanda.
Uses
Flowers attract birds by day and bats by night, which pollinate them; the fruit and bark have well-documented traditional uses as a skin treatment (fungal infections, boils, eczema) and cosmetically for a blemish-free complexion.
Ecological importance
Flowers are primarily bat-pollinated with copious nectar, but are also heavily visited by nectar-feeding birds by day; fruit is eaten by elephants, baboons and other wildlife.
Ibisobanuro
Indabo zacyo zikurura Inyoni, uducurama.