Common Name:

General Information

Maerua angolensis is a shrub or small tree, usually growing 5 - 6 metres tall but with reports of some trees up to 10 metres tall[, , ]. The plant is often rather rambling, with spreading or drooping branches[]. The bole is rarely straight[].
A multipurpose tree, harvested from the wild for local use, mainly as a medicine. The tree is an attractive ornamental for garden planting especially in the drier parts[].

Known Hazards

There are conflicting reports about this plant, with some stating the plant is edible and others that it is either unwholesome, or poisonous[]. The plant is often ignored by many grazing animals, is considered to be toxic for them in some areas, though considered good forage for sheep and goats in other areas[].
The powdered leaves are used as fish-poison[].

Botanical References

Range

Drier areas in Tropical Africa - Mauritania to Somalia, south to S. Africa.

Habitat

Deciduous woodland and bushland, scattered-tree grassland and edges of rain-forest, also coral-strands, at elevations from sea level to 1,700 metres in E. Africa[]. Sandy or stony soil, rocky crests, savannah with Acacia and Ziziphus in Cameroon[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Tree
Height	8.00 m
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of drier, mainly lowland areas in the tropics, where it is found at elevations up to 1,700 metres[].
Found mainly on sandy soils in the wild[].

Edible Uses

The leaves are eaten in soups, but quite often only in times of food shortage[, ]. They are sometimes used as a condiment and in sauces[].

Fruit[]. Added to soups and sauces[]. Although considered edible in some areas of Africa, in others it is thought to be poisonous[]. It is in some areas recorded as being eaten by boys[].

Seeds[].

Medicinal

The plant is often used in traditional medicine. Material from Tanganyika showed the presence of alkaloids and saponoside[]. Examination of the roots for insecticidal activity gave inconclusive results[].

The leaves are considered to be analgesic[]. They are used, either alone or with other plants, to treat a range of stomach troubles[, ]. The powdered leaves, taken with food, are prescribed for asthenia and anorexia[]. An infusion of the leaves is used to treat rheumatism, either drunk or taken as an enema[, ].
A snuff made of a mixture of the leaves combined with the leaves of Ximenia americana is taken to treat headaches[].
The leaves are laid on a painful area to give relief[, ]. The pounded leaves are laid over hard pus-filled abscesses to maturate them[]. The leaf-sap is dropped into fresh wounds as an antiseptic dressing[].

The whole plant is put into a medicine for treating epilepsy[].

The roots are used in the treatment of hydrocoele, for influenza and for toothache[].
Root and bark-decoctions are drunk as aphrodisiacs[].

The raw fruit, crushed in water, is sometimes taken to cleanse out the stomach[].

Other Uses

The yellowish wood is fine-grained, heavy, hard and brittle. It is capable of taking a fine polish. It is suitable for small cabinet work, tools etc. It has been used for hut-posts, but is said to be not particularly good, and is also used to make canoes[, ].
The wood produces a good fuel and is also used to make charcoal[, ].

Propagation

Seed -

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