Mimusops Bagshawei

Scientific Name: Mimusops Bagshawei

Common Name: Kwamba

Family: Sapotacae

Names in other languages: Kwamba: Mbande Luganda: Musandasanda, musali Luganda, dialect Buddu: Nkunya Lusoga: Musali.(Swahili)

General Information

A medium-sized tree native to forests in eastern Africa with small, sweet, edible fruits. It also yields a good quality wood. A widespread tree in Kenya, Tanzania and southern Sudan as well as in Uganda in lowland and upland rain forest. It is well distributed in Uganda except in North Eastern Region

Features of Bauhinia Tomentosa that make it identifiable:

Bark: Thick and dark brown, deeply channelled, often cross cut into small rectangles, white latex when cut. Twigs deep purple-brown, rough and fissured.

Leaves: long oval, stiff, often wider at the tip (not clustered at ends of branchlets), 7-12 cm long, veins slightly raised but generally indistinct, shiny dark green above, pale and dull below, edge wavy, tip drawn out, leaf stalk hairy 1-2 cm.

Flowers: yellow-cream, fragrant and small on hairy stalks to 1 cm, 2-4 beside leaves, outer sepals with pale brown hairs, sepals and petals appear numerous, central ovary hairy brown.

FRUIT: orange-yellow berry about 3x 2 cm, oval, tip pointed, edible, grey hairs when young, containing 1-3 brown seeds.

Uses

The wood of Mimusops andongensis is locally (especially in Nigeria) valued for building purposes, canoes, axe handles and carving. The latex from the bark is used to flavour palm wine, to treat malaria and as a penile stimulant.