Common Name:

General Information

Hymenocardia acida is a deciduous shrub or tree growing up to 10 metres tall, often looking gnarled and twisted with a characteristic rough rusty-red bark[]. The bole, which is often stunted or contorted, can be up to 30cm in diameter[].
The plant is especially valued for its medicinal virtues in Africa, where it is commonly gathered from the wild for this purpose[]. It also provides food, wood and tannins for local use and is sometimes planted to prevent soil erosion.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Tropical Africa - Senegal to Ethiopia, south to Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

Habitat

Deciduous woodland with Brachystegia or Cryptosepalum, watershed grasslands and dambos on Kalahari Sand; lakeshore sand dunes; in high rainfall miombo; mixed deciduous woodland; riverine fringes and mushitu margins[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Shrub
Height	7.00 m
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

A tree of the tropics, found at elevations of 500 - 1,200 metres, growing in areas that experience a long dry season[].
Succeeds on sandy, loam and clayey soils[].
Trees respond well to coppicing[].
The tree is a host for the fungus Coniella diplodiella, which causes white rot of grapes (Vitis vinifera)[].

A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required.

Edible Uses

Young leafy shoots - used as a supplementary food[]. An acid flavour[].

The fruit is edible and is sometimes eaten[]. A sour flavour, they are relished by children[].

Medicinal

The bark, leaves and leafy shoots have a considerable range of medicinal uses in Africa[]. Research has found traces of alkaloids in the stem bark and leaves, but not in the roots[]. The alkaloid hymenocardine has been found in the root-bark[].

The leaves and leafy shoots are used as an infusion for treating chest-complaints, fevers and small-pox[, ]. A decoction of the leaves, combined with honey, is used to treat coughs, stomach aches and biliousness[, ]. The macerated leaves are given for gripe[]. The leaf powder is added to food as a treatment for asthma[].
A leaf decoction is used as an eyewash for treating ophthalmia, conjunctivitis etc, and is added to baths as a febrifuge and to treat haemorrhoids[, ]. An extract of the leafy twigs is rubbed in to the body in order to strengthen sickly children[]. The vapour of the boiling leaves is inhaled to treat headache[]. The leaf powder is taken as snuff for treating headaches or is applied topically for rheumatic pains and toothache[]. The dried and powdered young leaves may be sprinkled over sores after washing[, ]. The leaf sap is used as ear drops to treat otitis[].

The leaves, combined with the roots, are used for treating deficiency diseases and oedema caused by malnutrition[, ]. A root decoction, together with the leaf sap, is taken to prevent miscarriage[].
The leaves and bark combined are prescribed in various ways. They enter into a complex prescription to give strength on a journey, whilst a preparation is used in baths and lotions to strengthen debilitated children, and in draught to relieve dysenteriform diarrhoea[]. A decoction is prescribed in Senegal for a treatment lasting 1 - 2 months for refractory cough and tuberculosis and for deficiency oedemas[].

When chewed, the bark is bitter, slightly astringent and produces a copious salivation[]. The powdered bark is used to treat a wide range of complaints, including colic and abdominal pains; diarrhoea and dysentery; menstrual pains; painful swellings; debility; combined with palm-oil and rock salt for treating bloody vomit[]. It is chewed with kola nuts for treating dysentery[, ]. An aqueous decoction is widely used for treating pulmonary affections, whilst an infusion of the bark, or of the fruit, is made into a boiling inhalation for treating breathing difficulties and colds[]. The powdered bark is added to food for treating an affection known as pidal (Fula-Fouladou) the symptoms of which are a piercing pain in the shoulders with spasmodic coughing, emaciation and sometimes dermatitis[].
The powdered bark is used in poultices on skin sores, abscesses and tumours[, ]. Combined with the bark of Zanha golungensis, it is used to make a poultice, which is covered with leaves of Terminalia macroptera, and applied to fractures[].

The inner bark is powdered and put on ulcers[].

Water in which the roots have been boiled is considered febrifugal[].
The root bark is eaten with porridge as a treatment for malaria[].

The powdered root is added to porridge for mothers whose breast-milk is 'too heavy'[].
The root is used to make a mouth-wash for toothache which is said to give good results with treating stomatitis and pyorrhoea also[]. The sap from the roots is applied topically for treating earache and tooth-troubles[]. Steam inhalations from the root-powder is considered anti-enteralgic and cleansing. It is given as a precursor of treatment for sterility, and can also be given safely during pregnancy[].

Charcoal made from the branches is powdered and rubbed on the head for treating headaches[].

The ripe fruit is used in Zambia to cure deafness[].

Agroforestry Uses:

Used for erosion control, the trees extensive root system protecting the surrounding soils[].The leaf litter can be used as a mulch to ameliorate soil physical and chemical properties[]. The tree casts a moderately light shade which is unlikely to fully deprive other crops of essential light[].

Other Uses

The bark is the source of a brownish red dye which is used on raffia work[, ]. The bark also contains up to 12% tannin[, ]. Tannins are present also in the leaves and roots[].

Root-extracts have shown some insecticidal activity[].

The wood is light brown or pink, darkening to orange, close-grained, with conspicuous annual rings, and hard. It has been said by some to be brittle and good only for firewood, whilst others recognise the tree as producing good firewood[]. The tree is used for house-posts and is also made into charcoal for blacksmith’s work[]. In Kenya and in Uganda the wood is known for its hardness, denseness, durability and good resistance to termite-attack. It is used to make pestles and bark-cloth mallets[].

Propagation

Seed - remove the wings from the seed and soak in cold water for 48 hours prior to sowing[]. Seeds can be sown in situ[].

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