Balanites aegyptiaca

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SHIPPING DETAILS: I ship through EMS and registered mail.

SHIPPING DURATION: America and Europe take two weeks to deliver while Asia takes 3-4 weeks to deliver through Registered mail.

NOTE: I can only ship through EMS if a customer desire with extra cost.

General Information:

Balanites aegyptiaca is a slow growing, evergreen or semideciduous, multi-branched, spiny shrub or tree with a srical crown; it can grow up to 10 metres or more tall. It has a remarkably fluted bole that can be 30cm in diameter, and long, straight, green spines arranged spirally along the branches.

An important and very useful multipurpose tree, it is valued for its edible fruit, leaves and flowers and many other uses, being cultivated in several parts of Africa and in a few other places in the tropics.

Edible Uses:

The fleshy pulp of both unripe and ripe fruit is edible and can be eaten dried or fresh. It has a slightly astringent taste and can be purgative in larger quantities. The fruit is processed into a drink and sweetmeats in Ghana, young leaves and tender shoots are used as a vegetable. They are prepared by boiling and pounding, and are then fried or mixed with fat.

The flowers are a supplementary food in West Africa and an ingredient of ‘dawa dawa’ flavouring in Nigeria,they are sucked in order to obtain their nectar.

A greenish-yellow to orange-red resin is produced from the stems. It is sucked and chewed when fresh.

The kernels produce an edible oil used for cooking, the oil remains stable when heated and has a high smoking point, and therefore its free fatty acid content is low. Its scent and taste are acceptable and the seed contains up to 50% oil.

Medicinal:

The roots are purgative and vermifuge, A decoction of the root is used to treat malaria, the roots are boiled in a soup to be used in the treatment of oedema and stomach pains, they are also used as an emetic, etc.

Germination:

Without pretreatment method, seeds can germinate in 15 days when planted shallow depth in the soil with consistent soil moisture.

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NOTE: Shipping plants seeds from Ghana requires mandatory to certificate as primary requirement.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: If your country is strict for import of seed, please let me know the necessary requirements. I am not responsible if your package is seized by the inspection of your country.