Have you ever seen a tree that grows giant sausages? Meet Kigelia africana, better known as the sausage tree. It’s native to sub-Saharan Africa and often found near rivers and open woodlands. The name comes from the Mozambican word kigeli-keia, which literally means “sausage tree” — and one look at those long, heavy fruits hanging from its branches, and you’ll see why!
The tree itself is beautiful and a bit wild-looking. It can grow up to 60 feet tall with a wide, spreading crown and smooth gray-brown bark. When it blooms, it puts out large, bell-shaped flowers in shades of orange, maroon, or purplish green. They open at night and smell… Well, let’s just say they’re not exactly fragrant to humans — but bats love them! In fact, bats are the main pollinators, with hawk moths and birds helping out too.
After the flowers fade, the tree produces its famous sausage-like fruits, some up to two feet long and weighing more than 15 pounds. The fresh fruit is poisonous, but locals have learned to dry, roast, or ferment it to make it safe — and even turn it into a traditional alcoholic drink. Pretty amazing, right?
Beyond its unusual looks, almost every part of the sausage tree is useful. People carve the wood into canoes, furniture, and tools, use the roots and pulp for natural dyes, and even make herbal remedies from it. It’s also grown as an ornamental tree in tropical regions, admired for its bold flowers and curious “sausages.”
你看過結巨型香腸的樹嗎？它是臘腸樹，又名吊燈樹。這種樹原產於撒哈拉以南非洲，常見於河流附近和開闊的林地。它的名字來自莫三比克語“kigeli-keia”，字面意思就是“香腸樹”——只要看一眼它枝頭掛著的那些又長又沉的果實，你就會明白為什麼了！
這棵樹本身就很美，略帶野性之美。它可以長到 60 英尺高，樹冠寬廣舒展，樹皮光滑呈灰褐色。開花時，它會綻放出碩大的鐘形花朵，顏色有橘色、褐紅色或紫綠色。花朵在夜間開放，氣味……嗯，這麼說吧，對人類來說並不算芬芳——但蝙蝠卻非常喜歡！事實上，蝙蝠是主要的授粉者，天蛾和鳥類也會幫忙。
花謝之後，這棵樹會結出著名的香腸狀果實，有些長達兩英尺，重達15磅以上。新鮮的果實有毒，但當地人已經學會了將其曬乾、烘烤或發酵，使其可以安全食用——甚至可以用它釀造傳統的酒精飲料。是不是很神奇呢？
除了外形奇特，香腸樹幾乎每個部分都很有用。人們用它的木材製作獨木舟、家具和工具，用它的根和樹漿製作天然染料，甚至用它來製作草藥。在熱帶地區，它也被作為觀賞樹木種植，因其艷麗的花朵和奇特的「香腸」而備受青睞。
Notes 筆記
- Kigelia africana, commonly called the sausage tree, is native to riverbanks, floodplains, open woodlands, and savannas from sub-Saharan Central Africa to South Africa. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental tree in tropical regions for its decorative flowers and unusual fruit.
- The genus name comes from kigeli-keia, the Mozambican name for the sausage tree. The specific epithet means “of Africa.”
- The tree can be deciduous or evergreen depending on rainfall. It typically grows 50–60 feet tall, with a stout trunk and a rounded to spreading crown. The smooth, gray-brown bark may flake with age.
- Flowers are produced in panicles; they are bell-shaped and range in color from orange to maroon or purplish green. The flowers have abundant nectar and a fetid aroma. They open at night and are pollinated primarily by bats, though sometimes also by hawk moths and birds.
- Flowers are followed by woody, gray-brown fruits, which are technically woody berries. The fruit can reach up to 2 feet in length and weigh 15–20+ pounds. It resembles a sausage in a casing. The fibrous pulp contains many seeds. The fresh fruit is poisonous and strongly purgative, but it can be made safe for consumption by drying, roasting, or fermenting. The hard outer shell of the fruit can be hollowed out, cleaned, and made into durable containers of varying sizes.
- Parts of the sausage tree have been used in a variety of applications:
- Herbal medicine: for treating infections, wounds, ulcers, sores, syphilis, and digestive or respiratory problems
- Woodcraft: for making canoes, planking, fence posts, yokes, oars, and household items such as containers, musical instruments, furniture, and tool handles
- Dyes: the fruit pulp yields a black dye, while yellow dye can be extracted from the roots
- Beverages: the dried fruit is used to make an alcoholic mead
- 臘腸樹，又名吊燈樹，原產於撒哈拉以南中非至南非的河岸、洪氾區、開闊林地和疏林草原。因其觀賞性強的花朵和奇特的果實，在熱帶地區被廣泛栽培為觀賞樹木。
- 屬名源自莫三比克語“kigeli-keia”，意為香腸樹。種加詞意為「非洲的」。
- 這種樹依降雨量的不同，可以是落葉的，也可以是常綠的。它通常能長到 50-60 英尺高，樹幹粗壯，樹冠呈圓形或展開狀。光滑的灰褐色樹皮會隨著樹齡增長而剝落。
- 花朵呈圓錐花序狀，鐘形，顏色從橙色到褐紅色或紫綠色不等。花蜜豐富，散發著刺鼻的氣味。花朵在夜間開放，主要由蝙蝠授粉，有時也由天蛾和鳥類授粉。
- 花後結出木質的灰褐色果實，嚴格來說是木質漿果。果實可長達 60 公分，重達 7-9 公斤以上，形狀像裹著腸衣的香腸。纖維狀的果肉含有許多種子。新鮮果實有毒，且有強烈的瀉藥作用，但可透過乾燥、烘烤或發酵處理使其可以安全食用。果實堅硬的外殼可以掏空、清洗，並製成各種尺寸的耐用容器。
- 香腸樹的各個部分已被用於多種用途：
- 草藥：用於治療感染、傷口、潰瘍、瘡、梅毒以及消化系統或呼吸系統疾病。
- 木工：用於製作獨木舟、木板、柵欄柱、軛、槳以及各種家居用品，例如容器、樂器、家具和工具手柄。
- 染料：果肉可提取黑色染料，而黃色染料可從根部提取。
- 飲料：這種乾果可用於釀造蜂蜜酒。
References 參考資料
- Wikipedia: Kigelia
- Missouri Botanical Garden: Kigelia africana
Plants Posts 植物的帖子
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