A slender tree to 15 m high, of the wooded savanna, and less (5–6 m) when in the drier Sahel region, present throughout the Region and widespread across Africa to the Red Sea and southwards to Malawi, the Congo basin and Angola.The trunk is rarely straight, and the branches too are crooked. The inflorescence is a drooping panicle of pink or purplish flowers which are borne when the tree is wintering. The tree in flower is very showy and well worth cultivation as an ornamental. The seeds however have a very poor germination and propagation by suckers is recommended (10, 11). The scaly bark confers some degree of resistance to fire damage.The wood is whitish tinged with yellow or pink and is fairly hard (4, 11, 13). Air-dried wood of E African origin is recorded as weighing 60 lb/cu. ft. (3, 5); when big enough it is used to maké mortars (1, 4, 11). For superstitious reasons, as well as for its medicinal use, the tree is not cut for fire-wood; in Sokoto, N Nigeria, the smoke is said to conduce one to leprosy (4). In Uganda the wood is known as being useless for making charcoal as in the burning it passes through to ash (8).The bark on chewing is bitter and nauseous (14), but it is a widespread practice for girls to chew the young bark to stain their lips reddish-brown, perhaps to imitate the effect of chewing kola, or as a substitute for it (4). In Senegal the bark and the roots are commonly prescribed for internal and external use in treatments for a condition called siti (primary syphilis) which is manifested by cracks on the joints and fingers that degenerate into ulcers (14, 18), for syphilitic complications, for leprosy, vomiting and fevers, stomach ulcers and phagadenic ulcers (powder used externally) (18). A bark-preparation is used in Malawi on ulcers (28). People in N Nigeria value the bark as a remedy for venereal disease. The Fula take a straight bark-decoction (12). In Sokoto a decoction is taken with natron and a white variety of guinea-corn. It causes sweating and diarrhoea (4). In Tanganyika root and bark decoction together with those of Tamarindus indicus (Leguminosae: Caesalpinioiideae) is drunk for leprosy, root and bark-ash with oil is rubbed into scarifications for leprosy, and bark-decoction with the bark of Dalbergia boehmii (Leguminosae: Papilionoideae) is given to children in malarial rigor as a drink and for bathing (9). In Senegal the bark with that of Ozoroa insignis (Anacardiaceae) is considered a vermifuge, and with Parkia biglobosa (Leguminosae: Mimosoideae) a poison-antidote (18). The trunk-bark in decoction is given for refactory cough, bronchitis and pneumonia, (15, 18). Roots and bark are used for stomachache and the bark when crushed is applied to wounds in Sudan. The bark is also used for skin-eruptions in Malawi (11) and ulcers (28). The Hausa and Fula value the bark as a remedy for diarrhoea and dysentery, and as a horse medicine (4).The roots and leaves are given by Fula in Senegal for venereal diseases, respiratory diseases and gastritis (16, 18). The roots are considered to be strongly diuretic and are used by the Serer of Senegal for anuria, urethral discharge, and schistosomiasis (18). In Nigeria the root, along with other roots is a remedy for a disease called rana with symptoms of haematuria (4). Diverse use is made of the roots in Tanganyika: a root decoction with leaf-sap is taken as a cough-mixture (9); for venereal disease (7); roots and leaves are boiled in water which is drunk for stomach-pains by the Zigua (25); the liquor after boiling the roots is drunk for sudden sharp itching rashes (26) [? urticaria]; the Sukuma pound the core of the peeled root which is soaked in water, and the liquid is drunk for constipation and syphilis — diarrhoea is caused within half an hour and lasts for three days (23); the pounded roots are applied by the Sukuma to syphilitic sores after they have been washed (24). In Malawi the roots are used in the treatment of a condition resembling asthma (28).The leaves are macerated and put into baths in Senegal for general debility (17). They are put into steam-baths in Tanganyika but the purpose is not recorded (20), and burnt, the ash is mixed with oil and applied to scabies (25). In Uganda an infusion is used for washing wounds (5). In The Gambia they are used in dyeing (6). The leaves and small branches are relished by horses in Sudan, and the dried leaves have been analysed as containing 3·8% proteins (11).The long sinuous fruit pod are considered edible in Guinea (22). They are used in Tanganyika as a cough-cure (2), and the shoot and pod are chewed with salt for the same purpose (27). The pods are also chewed with salt in S Rhodesia (21).The tree is endowed with a number of superstitious ideas. In Senegal, the Wolof in calling it ‘the wand of the sorcerer’, bestow upon the tree power to exorcise ghosts (18). The Hausa of Nigeria and the Yoruba give it honorific epithets. The bark is regarded as a preventative against witchcraft, and is either finely powdered and used like snuff or wrapped up and worn as a charm. Pagan tribes lay a stem across the entrance of a hut to prevent thieves. Mistletoe (kauchin sansami, parasite of sansami) found growing on the tree is considered a lucky find. (4). Bark is used in Tanganyika for devil-worship (20).