Common Name: Snuff Box Tree

General Information

Snuff box tree is a slow-growing, evergreen plant that varies in habit from a shrub growing 3 - 4 metres tall in the drier areas of its range to a much-branched tree with a bushy crown growing up to 13 metres tall in the moister areas[]. The branches have straight, sharp, axillary spines up to 7 cm long[].
The plant is harvested from the wild and also cultivated for its fruits in Africa and India. It is also grown as a hedge[]. It is often grown as an ornamental, where it is particularly valued for its large white flowers, which are sweetly scented[, ]. Individual flowers are short-lived, but they are carried in succession over a long period[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Tropical Africa - Senegal to Somalia, south to northern Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe and S. Africa.

Habitat

Forest edges; riverine forest and bushland; Brachystegia woodland; hardpan; at elevations from near sea level to 1,800 metres[]. Deciduous, secondary and fringing forest[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	8.00 m
Growth Rate	Slow
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

The plant becomes deciduous in places where the temperature falls to near 0°c, but as long as it is grown in areas with long, hot summers, is capable of withstanding temperatures as low as -5 to -7°c[].
Prefers a sunny position in a rich, well-drained soil[]. Established plants are drought tolerant[].
A fairly slow-growing plant, increasing in height by about 50cm per year, though up to 1 metre has been recorded in areas with higher rainfall[].

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw[]. The pulp has a rather sour, acidulous taste[]. The flavour is somewhat like pomegranates or green apples[]. Not particularly delectable[]. It is often viewed more as a famine food, eaten only in times of shortage[].

An edible oil is obtained from the seeds[].

Medicinal

The plant is often used in traditional medicine. It has a great reputation in the Congo as a panacea for all sicknesses and as protector against evil influences and spirits. No part of the plant must be cut without making an offering and explaining to the plant the reason and expectations[]. In Ivory Coast, the plant has a good reputation as an aphrodisiac[].
Traces of flavones have been found in the leaves[].
Tannins, steroids and terpenes have been found in the leaves, bark and roots[].
The plant has given negative results in anti-biotic tests[].

A decoction made from small chips of the wood is drunk for a week as a treatment for stomach-ache and loss of appetite[].

The fruit, combined with karite butter (Vitellaria paradoxa), is used in the treatment of stomach-ache and loss of appetite[].

An oil obtained from the seeds is taken internally for treating fever[].
Applied externally, it has been used in the treatment of leprosy[]. However, the oil contains no chaulmoogric acid and is considered useless against the leprosy bacillus[]. The oil has also been used in the treatment of other skin-complaints[].

A decoction of leafy twigs is used as a wash on sores[].

A decoction of the leaves and root is used in the treatment of urethral discharges[].
A decoction of the leaf-sap and roots, combined with Schrebera trichoclada, is used in the treatment of vertigo[].

The root is antidysenteric and a strengthening tonic[]. A decoction is used to treat dysentery, headaches and bladder conditions[, ].

Agroforestry Uses:

The plant has been tried as hedging, but with indifferent results[]. A spiny plant, making a stock-proof barrier[].

Other Uses

The fruits, which reach a diameter of about 6 cm, mature with a hard shell of a rich red-brown colour and sometimes with surface sculpturing. All over Africa these fruits are hollowed out for use as snuff-boxes, or are filled with pebbles or hard seeds to be used as rattles[]. If the fruit are left to dry with the seeds inside they it make amusing rattles for children and are also used as anklets and armlets for dancers to add rhythm when performing[]. Children put the whole fruit into a fire and when the fruit fizzes, they throw them to burst with a loud report[]. The dried fruit are also used as spinning tops[].

The seeds contain 35 - 37% of a brownish-yellow drying oil[]. It might find some application in making paint and varnishes, but separation of the seed from the fruit pulp appears to pose difficulties[].

The light brown wood is hard, heavy, easily split and takes a good polish[, , ]. It is used for poles and handles, and is suitable for inlay and cabinetry[]. The wood is seldom large enough to be commercially useful[].
The wood is used for fuel[].

Propagation

Seed - best sown when fresh[]. Surface sow the seed, or only just cover, and do not allow the compost to dry out. Initial growth is slow but will speed up after 9 to 12 months.

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