The Sausage tree

We noticed a tree in Tanzania that was quite different. It had a large looking fruit which hung from the branches.

We asked our guide Omare about the tree and he stated “oh that is a sausage tree”  Really?  He explained that the tree is quite common and has a large fruit that looks like a sausage hence the name Sausage tree.

The actual name of the tree is Kigelia africana known locally as the sausage tree. When we were driving through the Serengeti we would come across these trees. We had our guide Omare stop and we were able to take a closer look at this “Sausage tree”

The “sausage” fruit on the tree is quite big and it can grow up to 60 cm (2 feet) long and weighs 7 to 10 kg (15 – 22 pounds).  They definitely look like the casing of a huge sausage. It hangs down on long rope-like stalk and the fruit pulp is fibrous, containing many seeds.

The fresh fruit sausage is poisonous to humans but some large animals like elephants, giraffes, hippopotamuses and monkeys eat them.  However when the fruit is dried it is used several different ways. The skin which is a hard shell of the fruit is hollowed out, cleaned, and made into containers. In parts of Kenya the fruit is dried and used to make an alcoholic beverage known as Muratina. This drink is used during cultural events in central Kenya. 

This is just one of the many unique and interesting things we saw during our time in Tanzania.

“Moja ya mambo ya kuvutia”