Fruit - raw or cooked[301 ]. The fully ripe fruits have a mucilaginous texture with a sweetly acid but pleasant taste[301 , 307 , 332 , 774 ]. It is variously described as tasting like a mango, like a guava or as not being tasty at all[307 ]. Often eaten as a snack, travellers out in the bush find them satisfying to suck for their thirst-quenching effects[332 ]. The pulp can be used to prepare jam and wine[398 ]. It can be boiled down to a thick black syrup and used as a sweetening agent[301 ]. Contains four times as much vitamin C as oranges[301 ]. The fruit is pale yellow, obovoid, up to 37mm long with a leathery rind like a mango and a similar fibrous soft pulp covering the stone[200 , 307 , 332 ]. The expressed juice makes an agreeable drink, and in many areas is fermented into an alcoholic beverage[332 ]. The juice may also be boiled down to a thick black consistency used for sweetening guinea-corn gruel[332 ]. The fruits cannot be stored for more than a week, they bruise easily and therefore are difficult to transport[324 ]. Seed - raw or cooked[301 , 325 ]. A flavour similar to walnuts or peanuts[301 ]. They can be ground into a flour[301 ]. The nut contains two or three seeds with oily and edible kernels[332 , 398 ].Each seed is up to 20mm long and 8mm wide[308 ]. The seed is difficult to extract from the nut[324 ]. An edible oil is obtained from the seed[335 , 398 ]. Containing 28% protein, it is used for cooking[301 ]. The oil consists of 64% oleic acid, 17% myristic acid and small quantities of several others[332 ]. The oil has a quality and fatty acid composition comparable to olive oil but with a stability that is 10 times greater[303 ]. Staple Crop: Protein-Oil.

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The bark is analgesic, anti-inflammatory[332 ]. An infusion is used in the treatment of stomach-pains and constipation, to ease labour-pains[332 ]. A decoction is used as a purge[332 ]. The analgesic action is utilized to quell a toothache by chewing the bark and placing it in carious cavities in the teeth[332 ]. The bark, especially of the roots, but also of the trunk, is used as a remedy for snake-bites[332 ]. Pounded to a paste, it must be rubbed on the area until a swelling is raised, then a decoction of the bark is drunk and a dressing applied over the area[332 ]. The leaves may also be used for this purpose[332 ]. The bark is used externally as an anti-inflammation preparation and, with butter added, is applied to the forehead for headache, and to the eyes for blepharitis[332 ]. A decoction is used as a wash on skin-eruptions[332 ]. The root is pounded up with water, and the water is drunk in the treatment of schistosomiasis[332 ]. This water is also used for washing scabies[332 ]. The fruit is said to be laxative[332 ]. The leaves and fruits are chewed as a treatment for coughs[398 ].

Agroforestry Uses: The tree is used to provide shade and act as a windbreak[325 ]. Other Uses: The bark yields a strong fibre[324 , 332 , 774 ]. It is used for making ropes[325 ]. When injured, the bark exudes a nearly colourless gum which becomes brittle and friable on drying. The gum, dissolved in water and mixed with soot, is used to make ink[332 , 774 ]. The bark contains around 20% tannins[303 ]. The bark is used to prepare a mauve, pink, brown or red dye, the colour depending on methods used[299 ]. The seed contains 56% of a non-drying oil[303 ]. The oil obtained from the seed is used for skin care[299 ]. The oil-rich seeds burn brightly like a candle[307 ]. The heartwood is greyish dirty white to red-brown; it is not clearly demarcated from the thin band of sapwood. The wood is coarse textured, interlocked grain, light to moderate weight, soft and weak. It is moderately durable when well-seasoned; easy to work with well-sharpened tools; takes nails; turns well; can be carved; and takes a good polish. When big enough it is used for mortars and strong black-stained bowls[332 , 774 ]. Of the woods used to make these bowls, this species is considered the best[332 ]. In Jebel Marra wooden platters are made of it, and in Ethiopia milking vessels and axe-handles[332 ]. The wood is also used for making drums and hollowed-out canoes; pestles and mortars; bowls, furniture, saddles and carvings[307 , 324 ]. The wood is used for fuel[299 ]. Several moths breed on the tree including Argema mimosae - the beautiful African Moon Moth.

Special Uses