Balanites maughamii

Balanites maughamii (manduro, torchwood, Afrikaans: Groendoring, Zulu: Ugobandlovu) is a species of tree native to southern and eastern Africa. It ranges from Kenya through Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, the Caprivi Strip of Namibia, Eswatini, and the Northern Provinces and KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It is deciduous or semi-deciduous, growing to 20 (–25) meters tall, with a rounded and spreading crown. It has a fluted trunk up to 1.3 m in diameter. It rarely grows as a low shrub 1.5 to 2 m tall. It is a protected tree in South Africa. Groendoring, a community outside Asab in Southern Namibia is named after this tree.

Description

A medium sized tree. It grows to 10-20 m tall. The tree branches about 1.8 m above the ground and has spreading branches. The trunk is 30 cm across. It has buttresses. The trunk is deeply folded. The bark is light grey and smooth. Branches which do not produce fruit have sharp thorns up to 4 cm long and then branches which produce fruit which do not have thorns. The spines are forked. The leaves on the two kinds of branches also vary. The leaves are compound with 2 leaflets on very short furry stalks. On the branches which do not produce fruit the leaves are longer. They can be 3.5-8 cm long and 6 cm wide. They are pointed. Leaves on fruiting branches have rounded ends. The flowers are small. They have a scent. They occur in small bunches. They have greenish yellow oval petals. The fruit are 5 cm long usually with 5 grooves. The outer shell is brownish-yellow. They contain a large bony stone surrounded by a thin layer of flesh. They are edible.

Edible Uses

The fruits are edible. The fruits have a pleasant sweet scent and taste, but later become bitter. The fruit is 4 - 8cm long, ripening reddish brown, the skin firm but thin, eventually brittle, containing a spongy and fibrous, dark and oily mesocarp. The clear, yellow oil obtained from the seed is edible and is used in cooking. It is tasteless and odourless. The seed is ellipsoid to spindle-shaped, up to 2.5 cm long.

Traditional Uses

The fruit are eaten. They are dry and bitter. The seeds produce an oil.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Medicinal Uses

Manduro is used in magic and traditional medicine. The roots have emetic properties. Extracts of the leaves and twigs have shown genotoxic effects in vitro, causing DNA damage. Stem bark extracts inhibit the malarial parasite Plasmodium falciparum. The roots and bark are widely used in purgative medicines.

Distribution

A tropical plant. It grows in sand forest. It grows in dry open bush country. It can grow in hot arid places. It is often near springs. In East Africa it grows up to 1,000 m altitude. It can grow in arid places.

Where It Grows

Africa, Botswana, East Africa, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Southern Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

Cultivation

Plants can be grown from seeds. They are best planted where they are to grow. Root suckers can also be sued for planting.

Propagation

Seed - best germinated in the ground, as container-reared specimens tend to become chlorotic. Root suckers can be used for propagation.

Other Uses

The oil obtained from the seed is used as a massage oil and is suitable for industrial use. In some regions the oil or seeds are burnt as torches, hence one common name 'torchwood'. The fruits are used to make leg rattles. Although the fruit is edible to mammals, the fruit exudate is used in fish poison and is lethal to the freshwater snails and water fleas (Cyclops spp) that are vectors of bilharzia and Guinea worm respectively. Manduro may contribute to the control of these diseases when it occurs near water and it has been planted for this purpose in some areas. It is postulated that yamogenin, the steroidal sapogenin to which molluscicidal activity is attributed in Balanites aegyptiaca is present in higher concentrations in this species. The kernel and pulp of ripe fruit are toxic to snails at concentrations of 25 mg/ml, and molluscicidal activity is retained in powdered material for up to 122 days. The fruits are also toxic to some frogs and fish. The tree can yield large straight logs of a valuable hard timber. It is usually pale yellowish brown and finely textured, giving a smooth finish, which takes a high polish. It is useful for building poles, tool handles, grain mortars, stools and for carving and turnery; in Swaziland it is used to make wagons. The wood produces a good charcoal.

Production

Trees begin to fruit after 4 years. The seeds contain 46% edible tasteless oil.

Other Information

The fruit are not widely used.

Notes

The fruit kill snails which spread Bilharzia.

Synonyms

Also Known As

Green thorn, Groendoring, Inhulo, Ipamu, Liphambo, Manduro, Mchalacuse, Modolo, Mpambulu, Mudulu, Mululu, Nanculipi, Njuyu, Nnulu, Nulo, Ugobandlovu, Ummula, Umnulu, Umnunu, Y-thorned torchwood

References (24)

• Bircher, A. G. & Bircher, W. H., 2000, Encyclopedia of Fruit Trees and Edible Flowering Plants in Egypt and the Subtropics. AUC Press. p 52
• Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1913:136, 138. 1913
• Cunningham, 1985,
• Exell, A.W. et al, (Ed), 1963, Flora Zambesiaca Vol 2 Part 1 Crown Agents, London. p 221, 222
• Fowler, D. G., 2007, Zambian Plants: Their Vernacular Names and Uses. Kew. p 14

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