Kigelia africana

[bubba]

Does this tropical East African tree make it in Southern California and if so how big does it get? Does it fruit? Please post pictures.

[Justin]

Yes sir, at least in the more coastal areas. There's a giant one at the zoo, with sausages (sorry, no pic). I have one at my house that is probably 10-15 feet tall, and made it through our bad cold spell in January 2007 when it was still a little guy.

It's tough to come by, though. I actually ordered mine from a place in Florida.

[bubba]

Justin, Thank you for the information. That is a very tropical specimen and it is interesting to see what can flourish in a more Mediterean climate.

[Justin]

I wouldn't say its that tropical. They were all over the place in Botswana and Zambia, where it was very dry, very hot during the day, and very cold at night. So they at least have some tolerance to dry air and cold nights, much more than those plants that grow in the tropics.

[BigFrond]

I have one that is about 10 ft tall. I cut it all the way back to the ground two years ago when it was about 12 ft tall because I didn't like how the trunk was forming. Now, it has multiple trunks. The thing I don't like about this tree are the fallen leaves. They remain hard, prickly, and crunchy after many months. There are no sausages on mine yet. Quail and the Wild Animal Park have many. BTW, they are pretty easy to root from cuttings. I rooted two cuttings and they are pretty healthy.

[epicure3]

I have seen some here in SD and it's actually listed in the book "Ornamental Trees for San Diego".

[mnorell]

Kigelia does just fine in SoCal, even in cool coastal areas though its foliage and stems are frost/freeze tender, at least until it gets large. There's one at the Huntington (on the subtropical slope) that froze back after a moderate (20s) freeze about a decade ago, but has since gotten large and multistemmed. Can't remember what happened to it after the '07 freeze. There are nice, old and very large specimens flowering and fruiting at UCLA (outside the biology building) and also at 20th Century-Fox Studios (on the west side of the administration building)...unless these have been removed in the last five years or so. As I recall they will only form short potato-like fruit unless you do the bats' job and cross-pollinate...in that case you get the long, long sausage-shaped fruit. Someone at Fox was doing that job manually as I recall, they were always laden with flowers and very long fruit. I think Evans and Reeves might have pushed them back in the '50s across west L.A. and that's why there are more than one would think still extant around L.A. today, for being such a 'bizarre' tree.

Edited August 6, 2009 by mnorell

[fastfeat]

There's one at Fullerton Arboretum that fruits rather heavily, but most are not very long, some are. Never seen viable seed in any of them.

[Eric in Orlando]

The younger trees are tender but once they get some bulk they will tolerate cold. The is a big and old specimen here at Leu Gardens, planted decades ago. It froze to the ground after the 12/89 record freeze (2 nights at 19-20F) but came back and is about 30ft now with a big spread. It sets full sized pods here, its loaded right now and flowering too. I think moths pollinate them here. Around 29-30F will damage some foliage and 26-27 will start to damage branches.

[Eric in Orlando]

Good to know about cuttings. I will try some from our tree.

And it can be messy. In spring it sheds most of the old foliage as the new starts to emerge. The leaf litter will be way over ankle deep for a few weeks then it breaks down

[fastfeat]

In addition to leaf litter, this tree's also problematic as a street tree or in other scenarios where the fruit can hang over sidewalks, etc. May seem like a cool idea at first so people can see the fruit, but on small trees, kids can rip the fruits off and damage a young tree's branch structure. On larger trees, the low hanging fruit (stalks often 5-6'+ length of fruit) can be a real hazard over a sidewalk or street, particularly if unlit. Plus, the sheer volume of fruits (and flowers) can become burdensome to remove on a yearly basis.

I've always rather liked these trees, and I hadn't really given much thought to them in the landscape. After doing a street tree inventory in Punta Gorda, however, I gained a different perspective. A couple of trees were in the treelawn/parkway in front of an elderly lady's house. The trees were heavily laden with fruit, creating a 30' curtain of hanging "bombs" that no one wanted to go through, both on the sidewalk and in the street. The lady explained that, because of her age, she could no longer keep up with the yearly maintenance (prevention, or removal/clean-up) and that the City didn't keep pace either.

The best way to approach them is to consider them as fruit trees in the landscape, especially in FL. They are messier, say, than mangoes, because nothing eats the fruit, save, maybe, really hungry rats. Keep them out of street ROWs!

[Eric in Orlando]

Since the new fence got put up, the elephants and rhinos don't eat the fruit but the baboons still get to them.

Seriously, they must not taste good at all since nothing eats them here and the rats and squirrels eat everything here. Just like nothing eats the figs off of the big Ficus auriculata.

[Justin]

Mmmm, sausage tree fruit.

We watched this giraffe chew on this thing for 3-5 minutes. It was slow and steady work, not easy at all.

[fastfeat]

I wonder what the nutritional value of the fruit is? I'm guessing it's not very high. The only ones I've ever dissected have been rather zucchini-like, though tougher, with minute, undeveloped seeds.

BTW, what does a mature. fertile fruit look like inside? How much do the seeds swell inside/how does one determine maturity? Do the seeds develop any of the typical Bignoniaceous wings? I wouldn't really expect it, as they probably pass through animals' digestive systems, no?

[Fouquieria]

Just like nothing eats the figs off of the big Ficus auriculata.

I ate a fig from my Ficus auriculata. It didn't taste bad if moist cardboard is your idea of not tasting bad.

[Geoff]

There was a huge one (about 30 feet tall) in Northridge just a few blocks from the university, inland Los Angeles zone 9b and it had lots of fruits. It was planted in a cactus garden and probably got very little water.

[Justin]

BTW, what does a mature. fertile fruit look like inside? How much do the seeds swell inside/how does one determine maturity? Do the seeds develop any of the typical Bignoniaceous wings? I wouldn't really expect it, as they probably pass through animals' digestive systems, no?

Well, here's a photo of some birdy chowing down on a sausage tree fruit in Botswana. Hopes this helps...

[fastfeat]

There was a huge one (about 30 feet tall) in Northridge just a few blocks from the university, inland Los Angeles zone 9b and it had lots of fruits. It was planted in a cactus garden and probably got very little water.

Geoff--

Do you remember the cross streets? I'm currently off DeSoto in Canoga Park/Reseda area.

[BigFrond]

The fruit is very fiberous and super-duper hard. I tried to break open by smashing one to the cement and it bounced right back up nearly taking out one of my eyes (no damage at all). I even used a hammer to break one open and it was pretty tough.

[Eric in Orlando]

I've used a Corona saw to get into some pods that had fallen but none had developed seeds.

[Eric in Orlando]

The giraffe photos are great ! Are there sausage trees in their exibit for them to graze or do they feed them the pods?

[Justin]

The giraffe photos are great ! Are there sausage trees in their exibit for them to graze or do they feed them the pods?

Dude, that's in the wild, in the Okavagango Delta in Botswana. Those giraffes could eat whatever they want - well, within whatever was available. We were told they just like to chow down on the Kigelias. But, as others have stated, it takes a LOOOOOOOOOONG time, because the sausages are very tough. The giraffe's #2 propogates the species. So go giraffes!!!

[Geoff]

There was a huge one (about 30 feet tall) in Northridge just a few blocks from the university, inland Los Angeles zone 9b and it had lots of fruits. It was planted in a cactus garden and probably got very little water.

Geoff--

Do you remember the cross streets? I'm currently off DeSoto in Canoga Park/Reseda area.

It was just a block or two east of CSUN and on a major street, like Plummer or one next to it... was at the old Singer home

[Eric in Orlando]

Just like nothing eats the figs off of the big Ficus auriculata.

I ate a fig from my Ficus auriculata. It didn't taste bad if moist cardboard is your idea of not tasting bad.

Wow! yours had some flavor !!!

[fastfeat]

Just like nothing eats the figs off of the big Ficus auriculata.

I ate a fig from my Ficus auriculata. It didn't taste bad if moist cardboard is your idea of not tasting bad.

Wow! yours had some flavor !!!

Nah, Fouquieria just has no taste!

[fastfeat]

There was a huge one (about 30 feet tall) in Northridge just a few blocks from the university, inland Los Angeles zone 9b and it had lots of fruits. It was planted in a cactus garden and probably got very little water.

Geoff--

Do you remember the cross streets? I'm currently off DeSoto in Canoga Park/Reseda area.

It was just a block or two east of CSUN and on a major street, like Plummer or one next to it... was at the old Singer home

Thanks. Will try to get over there and see if it's still alive.

[Walt]

Kigelia africana is one tree that handles cold far better than I thought. I have two small ones I grew from seedlings I got about three years ago. The tallest one is close to 12 feet high. It probably would be taller but the top was frozen back this past winter (for the first time).

This tree went through three consecutive nights of low temperatures in the mid 20s (at least), as I did record 23.5 F on the coldest morning. Both my sausage trees were totally defoliated, plus all wood was frozen back to about 1" in diameter. The trunk wasn't frozen.

IMO, Kigelia africana is more cold hardy than Ficus elastica, F. altissima, F. alii, F. benjamina, and even F. microcarpa (all which I'm growing). I have a F. microcarpa growing about 40 feet away from the A. kigelia in below photo and it's branches were frozen back to 3.5" - 4" in diameter!

[fastfeat]

IMO, Kigelia africana is more cold hardy than Ficus elastica, F. altissima, F. alii, F. benjamina, and even F. microcarpa (all which I'm growing).

Ficus maclellandii 'Alii' (and even more so the species) is a p*ssy when it comes to cold. Several attempts to plant at Fullerton Arboretum (Sunset 23) have failed. I've only seen a couple of trees, neither bigger than about 18-20'/6-7m in SoCal.

Good to see your success with Kigelia Walt.

[Walt]

IMO, Kigelia africana is more cold hardy than Ficus elastica, F. altissima, F. alii, F. benjamina, and even F. microcarpa (all which I'm growing).

Ficus maclellandii 'Alii' (and even more so the species) is a p*ssy when it comes to cold. Several attempts to plant at Fullerton Arboretum (Sunset 23) have failed. I've only seen a couple of trees, neither bigger than about 18-20'/6-7m in SoCal.

Good to see your success with Kigelia Walt.

FF: I first purchased a nice 20 gallon sized F. alii, probably back in 1999/2000. I planted it out in the open and it got up to about 12 feet tall. Then it was killed by the radiational freeze of January 5, 2001, when my low was 22 degrees (coldest ever for me). It was then I found out that F. alii doesn't come back from the roots like my other ficus do.

Some years later I bought another F. alii, but maybe not more than a 5 gallon size. This time I planted it back in a lightly wooded section of my property, where it is slightly warmer and with much less frost potential due to light overhead tree canopy. It did much better there, but still got some leaf defoliation some winters, but no wood damage.

However, this past winter when my open yard low temperature dropped to 23.5 F, my F. alii was killed all the way down to about one foot of the ground. Only the fattest part of the trunk survived. It's coming back slowly now.

Here's a photo of my F. alii taken shortly after the 3-day mid 20 freezes I had last January (a first for me. Never had three nights in the mid 20s). Note there was still lots of green in the leaves, but all the branches were killed:

[BigFrond]

Here's my sausage - tree that is. It's right behind the royal.

Edited August 12, 2009 by BigFrond

[sbpalms]

This is an old topic, but there's a large one at the zoo in Santa Barbara, with several fruits.

[Cedric]

On 08/08/2009, 11:48:27, Justin said:

 

Well, here's a photo of some birdy chowing down on a sausage tree fruit in Botswana. Hopes this helps...

 

"Some birdie" also happens to be Poicephalus meyeri, or Meyer's parrot. A delightful little parrot whose populations have dramatically decreased in the wilds of Southern Africa and Zimbabwe due to habitat destruction after a series of epic storms and flooding which took out many large nesting site trees in what was dense riparian forest. You still see occasional very large Kigelia africana specimens though and forests have started to become more mature again along rivers with the occasional sighting of the dapper little meyeri. 

A well grown large old spreading Kigelia africana is a stunning sight. They have the shape of the giant oaks of Europe, like huge billowing clouds and are a wonderful, welcome sight in many parts of Africa especially after the first summer rains when covered in bright green new growth. Despite the heavy sausages they make lovely shade trees and often landmark trees are used as informal bus stops , shops even departure lounges. I've never been hit by a falling fruit, but often elephants will shake them down keeping things safer. In flower the trees are also alive with insects, birds, monkeys, baboons and visitors underneath like kudu impala duiker bush pig warthog etc etc........a good tree to sit nearby and watch the comings and goings.  The flowers are full of delicious nectar and a feast for large and small

Although they are drought tolerant as large specimens they do like lots of nice humidity warmth, especially rain in summer and all year if possible as in Tropical Africa where there is not much of a cool season. They are also completely evergreen in tropical areas. I imagine with lots and lots of watering in summer or a high water table they should do well in parts of California. They get through a dry winter with warm/hot days and cold nights further South in Africa but no where much bellow 10-15%C except in Namibia where very brief overnight frosts can occur however the trees generally grow in low lying areas along river beds that don't see frost.

Obviously a very adaptable species given the wide range where it is found growing wild and I've even seen a pretty decent one growing at Kirstenbosch National botanical gardens in Southern Africa with it's decidedly Med like climate. 

[Palms1984]

On 8/6/2009, 5:00:32, fastfeat said:

There's one at Fullerton Arboretum that fruits rather heavily, but most are not very long, some are. Never seen viable seed in any of them.

There's a  large tree at San Diego State University.  It has so many hundreds of fruit, it's not funny.  I got some seed there and planted them.  Extremely viable seeds, every seed I planted, germinated.  It's just very difficult getting the seed out of the of the pod which is the challenge. 

Here's a pic I posted on another garden website.  I have several sausage tree pics on this website.

http://www.growsonyou.com/photo/slideshow/262999-kigelia-africana-sausage-tree/all

Edited October 25, 2017 by Palms1984

[Silas_Sancona]

On Wed Oct 25 2017 13:33:44 GMT-0700, Palms1984 said:

There's a  large tree at San Diego State University.  It has so many hundreds of fruit, it's not funny.  I got some seed there and planted them.  Extremely viable seeds, every seed I planted, germinated.  It's just very difficult getting the seed out of the of the pod which is the challenge. 

Here's a pic I posted on another garden website.  I have several sausage tree pics on this website.

http://www.growsonyou.com/photo/slideshow/262999-kigelia-africana-sausage-tree/all

^^ Good to see you are still snapping/ posting pictures over there.. how'd the Royal Poinciana do in S.D. this year? 

Curious if anyone has tried Midnight Horror Tree ( Oroxylum indicum) anywhere across So. Cal/ S.D.

[Palms1984]

On 10/26/2017, 9:29:26, Silas_Sancona said:

^^ Good to see you are still snapping/ posting pictures over there.. how'd the Royal Poinciana do in S.D. this year? 

Curious if anyone has tried Midnight Horror Tree ( Oroxylum indicum) anywhere across So. Cal/ S.D.

The Royal Poinciana trees bloomed very well this past summer.