Kigelia Africana, Sausage Tree - 0.5 kg Seeds

The Sausage Tree (Kigelia africana) is a handsome, broad-crowned deciduous tree named for its enormous, hard, grey-brown fruits that hang on long stalks like sausages. At night it opens large, velvety maroon, bell-shaped flowers that are bat-pollinated and rich in nectar.

Native to tropical Africa, it is widely planted in India as an ornamental, avenue and shade tree in parks, campuses and botanical gardens. Its fruit and bark are well known in traditional medicine and modern skincare for extracts used on the skin, and the curious fruits make it a popular conversation specimen. It grows readily across warm, frost-free regions of India on deep, well-drained soils.

• Family: Bignoniaceae
• Native region: Tropical and southern Africa
• Mature height: 10-20 m
• Growth rate: Moderate

Extract the seed from the dry, fibrous fruit and soak it in water for 24-48 hours to soften the coat. Sow about 1 cm deep in a warm, moist seed tray of well-drained mix; germination usually takes 14-21 days. Prick out and pot on the seedlings once they are sturdy, then plant out at the onset of the rains.