Monday, June 20, 2011

A thorny one - Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides






Updated Tuesday 21st June: Identified by Barry S: Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides.

This is an endangered species. The roots are very much wanted for medicinal uses, and people don't bother to plant new trees when they destroy old ones. Very sad. I know one Dutch person in Gambia who has a big one in his garden. He allows the "medicine man" dig out ONE root every year from his tree, not more than that.  The individual I have pictured, is inside a compound with high concrete fences so it will be safe.
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I wonder if this is the same as Barry had found on the net googling West African trees end of 2010. It is a smallish tree with many stems, bush-like. 


Unfortunately I never went there again, so I have no picture of open flowers or any fruit. No seeds to pick. But I know excactly where it grows, so next season next try.

The second last picture should be vertical, I dont know how to rotate it without removing and replacing. Sorry.

Bauhinia rufescens


Updated Tuesday 21st June:
Barry helped me out again! This is Bauhinia rufescens. The flowers seem to be white.

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Sorry for the colour quality of the second picture. I edited it too much. The colours should be something between the first and second image!

This is a small tree (big bush) that I collected seed pods from. The leaves look like small bauhinia leaves. Very small indeed, only 1,5 - 2 cm each half. I saw no flowers at the time, so no idea of them. Unfortunately I missed to take a picture of the whole tree. More or less it was impossible because these grew as a very untidy, never cut dense  "hedge" by the road. They were 4-5 meters high.


Barry gets seeds from this one. Noname - his favourite!