Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) Delile

A semi-evergreen or sometimes deciduous shrub or small tree up to 12(–15) m high, usually spiny, extremely variable in many of its characters; bole usually straight, to 60 cm diameter, often fluted, branches spreading irregularly or pendulous, sometimes forming a rounded crown; bark hard, becoming rough, corky and deeply fissured, dark grey; branchlets and spines greyish green becoming light brown, at first minutely puberulous to tomentellous, usually glabrescent.. Spines borne at wide angle to the parent stem, axillary or to 4 mm above the axil, straight or slightly curved, (0.4–)2–8(–11.5) cm long, 2–6 mm diameter at the base, terete with a sharp tip or subulate, without leaves or flowers, only very rarely bearing a short branch-spine.. Leaves subsessile or with a petiole up to 3.5 cm long; stipules0.5–1 mm long, triangular, caducous, finely puberulous, glabrescent; leaflets very variable, narrowly spathulate or elliptic to broadly ovate or obovate, sometimes very broadly spathulate or almost orbicular and eccentric, 0.6–6.8 cm long, 0.3–5 cm wide, sessile or with petiolules 0.1–1 cm long, thin to coriaceous, apex bluntly acute to obtuse or rounded, occasionally emarginate, cuneate or narrowly decurrent at the base, closely and minutely puberulous, often glabrescent, or sometimes densely tomentellous or tomentose; foliole 1–2.5 mm long, often caducous, linear and bent.. Inflorescence of (1–)2–20 or more flowers variously arranged in cymose fasicles at spineless or spiniferous nodes, or closely arranged on shoots of short internodes, sometimes more or less spiciform, finely tomentellous to tomentose; peduncle, if present, 2–8 mm long; pedicels 0.4–2 cm long.. Flowers 5-merous, sweet-scented; sepals spreading to reflexed, ovate, 3.5–5.5 mm long, 1.5–2.5 mm wide, acute to acuminate, tomentellous to tomentose on the outside, sometimes early caducous; petals spreading, sometimes reflexed, green to pale yellow or creamy white, lanceolate or narrowly elliptic to obovate-oblong, 4.5–7 mm long, 1–2.5 mm wide, rounded or obtuse to acute, sometimes contorted at the apex, glabrous within; stamens 10, spreading; anthers 0.7–1.8 mm long, 0.4–0.7 mm wide; ovary 0.7–1 mm high, puberulous or pubescent to tomentose; style 1.5–3.5 mm long.. Fruit elongating markedly in very early development, very variable when mature, ripening greenish brown to yellow, subspherical or ovoid to ellipsoidal, 2.3–4.7 cm long, 1.3–2.8 cm wide, rounded, truncate or sometimes sulcate at both ends or apex tapering, conical, leathery at first, becoming brittle on the outside, inside yellowish brown, fibrous and oily, surrounding a hard, woody endocarp containing the seed.

A tropical plant. It is found all over Africa. It grows in the lowlands. It occurs from arid to sub-humid areas. It suits hot dry areas. It grows in the Sahel. It grows from sea level to 2,000 m altitude. It prefers valley soils but will grow on a range of soils. It suits a rainfall of 200-800 mm. It can grow in arid places. It needs a mean average temperature of 20-30°C. It grows in Miombo woodland in Africa.

The nut or seed is used to make meal. The seeds are boiled in several changes of water then eaten with sorghum. A yellow oil is produced by the seeds after long boiling and is eaten. The fruit and dried pulp are eaten. The fruit is bitter unless very ripe. The fruit are used for syrup and alcoholic drinks. Caution: Alcohol is a cause of cancer. The leaves and flowers are eaten as a vegetable. The resin from the cut bark is chewed.

It is grown from seed. Seed can be grown in a nursery in pots, or direct. Root suckers can also be used. There are 600-1,200 seed per kg. Seed removed from the fruit can be stored for a year. Seed should be down vertically with the stem end down for best results. Seeds germinate in 1-4 weeks. Soaking the seed helps them germinate. They can be soaked in cold water for 2 days with the water being changed after 24 hours. Seedlings are slow growing but root suckers are faster.