Brachystegia spiciformis

Brachystegia spiciformis, commonly known as zebrawood (not the genuine zebrawood, Microberlinia brazzavillensis), or msasa (spelled as masasa), is a medium-sized African tree having compound leaves and racemes of small fragrant green flowers. The tree is broad and has a distinctive amber and wine red colour when the young leaves sprout during spring (August–September). It grows in savanna, both open woodland and closed woodland of Southern and Eastern Africa, mostly Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique. The word msasa is commonly used as a proper name in African place names. The word also means 'rough plant' in Swahili. Other common names: mundu, myombo, mtondo (Tanzania), muputu (Zambia). The plant is known in the Venda language as mutsiwa, which means 'the one that is left behind'. An outlying population of Brachystegia has recently been discovered in the Soutpansberg mountains of northern South Africa. This tree is a protected species in South Africa.

Description

A medium to large tree. It grows 8-15 m high. The branches twist and curve. The leaves hang downwards. They are dark green a and shiny. The leaflets are usually in 4 pairs. The pair of leaflets at the end are the largest. The leaflets are 2.5-8 cm long by 1-4.5 cm wide. They taper towards the tip. The base is unequal. The flowers are small and greenish. They grow in short dense spikes at the ends of branches. These are 3-6 cm long. The fruit are large woody pods. They are flattened and 14 cm long. They are dark brown and smooth when mature. The split open explosively.

Edible Uses

The seeds are dried and boiled then eaten.

Traditional Uses

The seed are dried and boiled then eaten.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Medicinal Uses

Just as its appearance varies greatly from place to place, so does its use. While in some regions, where msasa trees do not grow very tall, it is often heavily branched and used mainly as fuel such as charcoal and firewood, in other parts, such as central and northern Mozambique, it is used for furniture, sleepers, and construction timber. In parts of southern Tanzania, the hard wood is highly sought after. It is also used for beehives, boats, and general construction. It is considered an all-purpose wood. Furniture production has increased, since the wood can be artificially dried in kilns, which prevents further drying and twisting of the processed wood. In southern Tanzania, B. spiciformis has several medicinal applications, including using the roots to treat dysentery and stomach problems. It is an important shade tree. The leaves are known to be a good fodder and would likely provide good mulch. The species is not nitrogen-fixing.

Distribution

A tropical plant. It grows in open deciduous forest. It tolerates a wide range of soil types. In Zimbabwe it grows between 1,060-2,000 m above sea level. In Brisbane Botanical Gardens.

Where It Grows

Africa, Angola, Australia, Central Africa, Congo, East Africa, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Southern Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

Cultivation

Plants can be grown from seeds. Seed germinate easily. Seedlings are hard to transplant.

Propagation

Seed - best sown in situ because the seedlings are difficult to transplant. To get good germination results, the seed coat should be nicked at the distal (cotyledon) end of the seed using a sharp tool like a scalpel, knife or a nail clipper. Under ideal conditions, seeds germinate within 21-30 days, with an expected germination rate of mature and healthy seed lots being about 80%. Seed storage behaviour is orthodox. Viability can be maintained for several years in hermetic storage at 3c with 8-17% mc.

Other Uses

A fibre obtained from the bark is used to make sacking material. The inner bark is employed to make rope for roof ties, sacks, cloth, corn bins, beehives, and for other purposes. The bark is used to make bark cloth. For this purpose the trunk is stripped to a height of 2.5 - 3 metres according to the height at which the branches fork. The stripped trunk is smeared with cow-dung and wrapped round with plaintain leaves - a new bark soon forms which is ready to be used for bark cloth within 12 months. The third and fourth barks thus obtained are considered the finest in quality, though the tree might yield up to eight or more barks. The thin outer bark is scraped off the inner bark and discarded. The inner bark is left during the night to dry, and any soft, pulpy substance is scraped off the inside. The strips of bark, which are some 120 - 180cm long and 45cm wide, are laid on a log with a flattened surface and beaten with a mallet until they are the thickness of strong brown paper, by which time they will be 180 - 270cm long and 120cm wide. It is then spread out in the sun to dry, the exposure to light giving the upper surface a tint somewhat like terra-cotta, while the underside is of a lighter shade. Any holes or flaws in the cloth are cut into neat squares and patched with pieces taken from the edges so deftly that in a well-made bark-cloth they are not noticeable. These cloths are usually made up into sheets 2.4 metres square, two lengths being stitched together and pressed in such a manner that the seam is not seen when the cloth is being worn. Strips of fibre from the dry plantain stem are used for thread. The bark is astringent, containing 13% tannin. It imparts a reddish colour. The tree yields large quantities of a deep redgum that is very rich in tannin; it should be of some commercial value. The heartwood is variable, ranging from pale brown to a red-brown and darkening on exposure, striping is sometimes present; it is clearly demarcated from the 5 - 12cm thick layer of creamy or white sapwood. The texture is coarse; the grain irregular and interlocked; lustrous; there is no characteristic odour or taste. The wood is very hard, heavy; it is not durable and is vulnerable to termite attack; the sapwood is readily attacked by staining fungi. It dries slowly with some tendency to warp, mostly twist; there is appreciable checking and end splitting. The timber is difficult to work and to saw, with moderate blunting of cutters, interlocked grain is liable to tear in planing; it sands to a good finish and polishes well; it has very poor steam bending properties. Even when treated, it is a rather inferior general purpose timber, used for purposes such as general construction work, furniture components, railway sleepers, parquet flooring. The wood is a good fuel and makes a good quality charcoal. It is among the preferred species for charcoal making throughout southern Africa. Ash from the burnt wood is often used as a soil conditioner.

Production

Trees are rather slow growing.

Notes

Also as Caesalpinaceae. This legume tree does not form nodules.

Synonyms

Also Known As

Igonde, Kampela, Kwidi, M'roto, M'rrayuto, Msasa, Muputu, Musasa, Mutupureo, Mutatsa, Mutuya, Nkuidi, Pacola, Tsamba

References (16)

• Baidu-Forson, J.J., et al ,2014,. Assessment of agrobiodiversity resources in the Borotse flood plain, Zambia. CGIAR Research Program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems. Penang, Malaysia. Working Paper: AAS-2014-12.
• Drummond, R. B., 1981, Common Trees of the Central Watershed Woodlands of Zimbabwe, National Herbarium Salisbury. p 60
• Fowler, D. G., 2007, Zambian Plants: Their Vernacular Names and Uses. Kew. p 29
• Hedrick, U.P., 1919, (Ed.), Sturtevant's edible plants of the world. p 112 (As Brachystegia appendiculata)
• Lautenschläger, T., et al, 2018, First large-scale ethnobotanical survey in the province of Uíge, northern Angola. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (2018) 14:51

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