Bridelia

Bridelia

Bridelia micrantha

Origin: Indigenous

The Bridelia is a medium-sized, often thorny, leafy evergreen tree with a dense spreading crown that grows to 13 metres. Young stems are zigzag-shaped and speckled with paler breathing apertures. The bark is grey-brown, flaky with age. Leaves appear compound, but are actually alternating along branches; dark lustrous green above, up to 12 cm long; veins parallel and continuing along margin. Leaf stems are slightly hairy. The Bridelia’s flowers are small, yellowish green, clustered in leaf axils along branches; male and female flowers are separate yet on the same branch. Fruit: Soft, purple-black, oval, 8 mm, tasty and edible when ripe. One-celled.

Uses: Firewood, charcoal, timber, poles, tool handles, utensils (spoons), granary construction material (branches), edible fruit with a sweetish tart taste, medicine (bark, roots, leaf sap), fodder (goat leaves), bee forage, shade, mulch, riverbank stabilisation, red dye (bark).

Notes: The Bridelia tree is increasingly scarce owing to over exploitation. It is known to attract caterpillars and birds, thus it is not planted near homesteads. Wood is resistant to termite attack. Small-scale farmers frequently intercrop with this tree.