Profile of a tree – The desert date (Balanites aegyptiaca)
Read here the third article of Sandscript 32nd issue
Dattier du désert, hidjilidj, aborak, seguene, garbey, kielega, tanni, model, sump, aduwa – just a small selection of the many vernacular names of one the Sahel’s most widespread and useful trees, known in Latin as Balanites aegyptiaca and in English as the desert date or soapberry tree. The name Balanites is derived from the Greek word for an acorn, reflecting the shape of the tree’s fruits.
Except for truly Saharan habitats, the desert date can be found right across the Sahel, from Senegal and southern Mauritania to the Nile valley. It also occurs from Egypt (hence the specific name) southwards down through East Africa to Zambia and Botswana, as well as parts of Arabia and north-west India. Throughout, it is highly appreciated for its multiple uses and values as a source of hard wood for tools, household utensils and construction, its use in traditional medicine and the control of pathogens, and as a source of food for people, wildlife and livestock. Balanites seeds have been recovered from tombs in the Nile Valley dating back more than 4,000 years.
In the southern Sahel, along the border with more wooded, savanna habitats, Balanites can grow in thick, almost impenetrable stands. As rainfall diminishes, so the tree becomes more limited in distribution, favouring pans and depression on fixed dunes, and along seasonal wadis and drainage patterns. The tree has both central taproots to access deep moisture and a series of radiating, shallower, lateral roots that can capture surface humidity as well as providing stability. In many areas, Balanites is the only shade tree, offering welcome respite from the sun to a multitude of species, from tiny migrating warblers to larger cattle, camels, gazelles and antelopes. With their dense and spiny foliage, they also make admirable places for vultures and a host of other birds to nest.
Few trees have as many uses as Balanites. One of its names in English, soap berry tree, and in French, le savonnier, reflect its use as a soap. This is derived from the cambium, the thin layer of soft, living tissue that lies between the bark and the wood. An extremely good oil can be extracted from the kernels of the seeds and has led to a growing industry in secondary forest products in West and Central Africa.
Although somewhat bitter, the thin brown layer of flesh on the fruit itself is commonly consumed. And when made into an infusion and concentrated, the fruit, bark and leaves can be used in traditional medicine as a vermifuge and cure against a wide variety of diseases and ailments, from jaundice to epilepsy.
John Newby
Senior Advisor – SAHARA CONSERVATION
