Local names:
Afrikaans (snotappel), Bemba (chinga,mukole), English (azanza,tree hibiscus,snot apple,quarters,wild hibiscus,African chewing gum), Lozi (muneko), Lunda (mukole), Ndebele (uxhakuxhaku), Nyanja (mkole), Shona (mutohwe), Swahili (mtobo), Tongan (muneko), T
Azanza garckeana is a deciduous shrub or small, spreading tree, 3-13 m high, with a diameter at breast height of up to 25 cm; bark rough, greyish-black, fibrous, with longitudinal fissures and brown to yellow slash; young branchlets stellate-tomentose, becoming glabrescent when mature. Leaves alternate, palmate with 3-5 lobes, up to 20 x 20 cm; suberbicular in outline; stellate-pubescent to nearly glabrous above; densely pubescent to tomentose underside; lobes shallow and rounded or deep and acute, cordate at the base. Flowers large, up to 6 cm long, solitary, yellow with a purple-brown centre, borne on long, jointed pedicels in axils of uppermost leaves; petals globose or obovoid capsules up to 4 cm long, 3 cm thick, opening in 5-6 thick, red and glutinous segments. Fruit a globose, woody capsule, 2.5-4 cm in diameter, clearly divided into 5 segments, with red, silky hairs, the remains of the calyx and epicalyx at the base; seeds hemispherical, up to 10 mm long, 7 mm thick, with brownish and woolly floss. The source of the generic name is obscure. The strips of desert coast extending below the equator in Africa were once known as the ‘courses of Azania’, the name Azania being based on a word meaning ‘black and surviving in Zanzibar’, and it is possible that ‘azanza’ is derived from this. The specific name ‘garkeana’ was given after Professor August Garcke (1819-1904), a German botanist.
Ecology
A. garckeana grows naturally in miombo wooded grasslands, open woodlands and thickets. It is widespread in tropical eastern and southern Africa. Commonly associated tree species include Berchemia discolor, Cassia abbreviata, Cassia singueana, Combretum molle, Dalbergia melanoxylon, Ehretia spp., Grewia mollis and Tamarindus indica. The tree is evergreen in the warmer areas but semi-deciduous in colder regions. A. garckeana is drought resistant but thrives with abundant water during the rainy season. It can withstand mild frost.
Native range
Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Tree management
The species requires large amounts of light; hence the planting site should be cleared before planting out. Intensive weeding is necessary during the 1st few years after planting. Annual fires wipe out most of the young seedlings and saplings. Therefore, protecting the woodland where the species grows naturally helps to propagate it. Coppicing is a suitable practice. The trees are reasonably slow growing, up to 600 mm/year in the warmer areas and up to 400 mm in areas receiving some frost.
Orthodox storage behaviour; dry seeds store well in cool circumstances.
A. garckeana grows naturally in miombo wooded grasslands, open woodlands and thickets. It is widespread in tropical eastern and southern Africa. Commonly associated tree species include Berchemia discolor, Cassia abbreviata, Cassia singueana, Combretum molle, Dalbergia melanoxylon, Ehretia spp., Grewia mollis and Tamarindus indica. The tree is evergreen in the warmer areas but semi-deciduous in colder regions. A. garckeana is drought resistant but thrives with abundant water during the rainy season. It can withstand mild frost.
A. garckeana regenerates naturally from seed, coppice or suckers. Seeds germinate readily under favourable conditions; coppice shoots are produced after cutting of trees, and root suckers are produced when the tree is wounded, such as by cultivators, fire or trampling by animals. Potted seedlings and direct sowing are feasible as germination is good. A germination rate of 100% can be achieved with scarification by nicking; it usually takes 20-60 days. A seedling tray is filled with river sand, the hairy seeds are pressed into the sand until they are flush with the surface, then covered with a thin layer of sand. The seeds should be guarded from too much moisture; the sand should be damp at all times but not moist. The seedlings, when they reach the 3-leaf stage, are then transplanted into nursery bags filled with a compost-rich loamy soil. If grown from truncheons, seedlings must not be thinner than 80 mm in diameter. Some sand should be placed in the planting hole of the truncheon to prevent fungal growth and to speed up root formation.
Ripe fruit carpels are edible and have an energy content of 8.10 kJ/g. A sweet mucilage comes out when chewed. The fruit may be eaten raw if gathered green and juicy and the rind is peeled off. Boiled, it is widely used as a relish or made into porridge. The fruit pulp at 52% dry matter contains 35% carbohydrates, 45% fibre, 1% fat, 12% crude proteins and 21 mg/100 g ascorbic acid. The leaves make a relish or can be burned to produce salts.
Browsed by game and in the dry season by cattle.
Provides valuable firewood.
Fibre: Good quality rope can be made from the fibres of the inner bark.
Timber: The deep brown mottled wood is used for making bows, tool handles, small pieces of furniture, implement handles and knife sheaths.
Shade or shelter: Groups of up to 15 trees can be planted in camps where shade is needed for cattle, small stock and game. It also makes an attractive garden shade tree.
Medicine: A decoction is made from the roots and taken orally for painful menstruation and to treat coughs and chest pains. An infusion made from the roots and leaves is dropped into the ear to treat earache or taken orally as an antiemetic.
Ornamental: A. garckeana makes a successful and interesting pot plant but must be kept in full sun.