Common Name: Kaffir Orange

General Information

Strychnos spinosa is a thorny, often multi-stemmed, deciduous shrub or small tree with a rounded crown; it usually grows around 4 - 5 metres tall, but specimens up to about 10 metres have been recorded[, ].
The tree produces a popular fruit that is commonly harvested from the wild for local use. It also provides a range of medicines, an insect repellent and materials for local use. The plant is often left growing when the forest is cleared for cultivation[]. It is an old African crop that has been derived from wild material with poisonous fruits[]. Various cultivated races with palatable and delicious fruits have been developed over time[]. It is cultivated for its edible fruit in W Africa, Madagascar and S Florida, and has been introduced into Israel for trial as a potential new commercial crop[, ].

Known Hazards

Various parts of Strychnos plants, especially the seeds and bark, contain toxic alkaloids such as strychnine and brucine. The fleshy pulp of the ripe fruits, however, is often edible[].
The seeds and unripe fruits are toxic[].

Botanical References

,

Range

Tropical Africa - a widespread plant, found from Senegal to Somalia, south to S. Africa.

Habitat

Woodland, bush savannah and sometimes in galleried forest at elevations up to 2,200 metres[]. Found in a wide variety of dry woodland, thickets and savannah woodland, frequently on sandy loams of river banks, at elevations from 400 - 2,200 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Tree
Height	10.00 m
Growth Rate	Medium
Pollinators	Insects
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Semi-cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of hot, dry, tropical and subtropical savannah, where it is found at elevations to 1,500 metres or more[, ]. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 20 - 28°c, though it can tolerate 15 - 32°c and can even withstand occasional light frosts[, ]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall of 700 - 1,000mm, tolerating 600 - 1,500mm[].
Best grown in full sun, but can tolerate some shade[]. Prefers well-drained sandy soils and can also grow in rocky areas with poor soils[, , ]. Prefers a pH in the range 5 - 7, but tolerates 4.5 - 7.5[].
The plant grows relatively fast from seed and responds well to cultivation[].
A range of cultivated forms have been developed, with different shaped fruits and some with no seeds[].

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw, cooked or fermented to make an alcoholic beverage[, , ]. The fruit has a woody shell containing many flattened seeds surrounded by a dense, gelatinous, fleshy pulp with a lightly acidic and pleasant flavour[, ]. A subacid flavour[]. If the fruit is kept in the mouth too long, then a bitter taste develops[]. The sweet-sour pulp of a ripe fruit is edible but the seeds and unripe fruit are toxic[, , ]. The fruit is often dried for later use[]. The woody-shelled, yellowish-orange, globose fruit is 5 - 12cm in diameter[].
The fruit is as large as a quince, with a gourd-like shell full of large, flat seeds; the juice and watery pulp are agreeable when ripe. The pulp of the fruit is commonly eaten by the natives wherever it grows; it is somewhat acid and is said to be delicious[].

The leaves are occasionally used as a vegetable[, ]. They are eaten with couscous[].

Medicinal

It is believed that the presence of strychnine in the bark and unripe fruit, along with other alkaloids, are responsible for helping overcome the venom of certain snakes, such as Mamba[]. Strychnine is a powerful central nervous system stimulant that may be able to fight the respiratory depression cased be the venom of these snakes[]. It is also used as a purgative, for uterine problems and to treat sore eyes[].

The juice from the fruit and roots is dropped into the ears as a remedy for earache[].

The roots, leaves and bark are used in the treatment of disorders of the male organs[].
Roots or green fruits are used for their emetic action as an antidote for snakebite[, ].
A decoction of the roots is taken orally to treat colds or is drunk with milk to cure dropsy[].
The roots alone provide an emetic and also a remedy for fever and inflamed eyes[].
Jigger fleas are removed from the feet after applying a paste in which the grated root is mixed with oil[].

An analgesic is made from a decoction of the leaves[].

Other Uses

A mixture of the ground up roots and oil is applied to the skin as a fly repellent[].

Sound boxes for musical instruments known as 'mbira' are sometimes made from the shells of dried fruit[, ]. The fruits are also carved and sold as curios[].

The yellowish-white wood is straight-grained, hard and planes well. It is used in furniture making and general carpentry[, , ]. Timber from this tree is also used to produce implement handles, fighting sticks and hut poles, and is used for carving[, , ].
The wood provides firewood and charcoal[, , ].

Propagation

Seeds are soaked in hot water or the hard coat is burned to facilitate germination[].
Root suckers[]. The roots are pruned to encourage suckering[].
Cuttings of half-ripe wood.

Add a Comment:

If you have any useful information about this plant, please leave a comment. Comments have to be approved before they are shown here.

Name:

Email(Private):

Message:

Captcha: subtract 1 from 12