Friday, March 2, 2012

Acacia xanthophloea










We did not grow Acacia xanthophloea in the nursery because the tree is associated with areas where there is a high water table, so we did not have areas to plant them - though they would be good at Muriet village.
The Swahili name is Mgunga but as well there are a number of tribal names. The English Fever Tree came about (a) because the local people used a bark infusion as a malaria remedy and (b) because early Europeans associated malaria with the tree because mosquitoes live in the water where they grow, so they recognised the association.

Village authorities generally tend to prohibit the cutting of the tree because it grows in groups and the latent belief that it is a malaria cure - which it is not, though who knows maybe it was, because the parasite becomes resistant to treatments as time goes on.

The tree is easily recognised by its green-yellow bark and the fact that it usually grows in groups.

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