Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies.
Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Sausage tree
The long, pendulous fruits of the sausage tree (Kigelia africana) in Murchison Falls National Park, northwestern Uganda.
Sausage tree
plant
Also known as: Kigelia africana
Sausage tree, (Kigelia africana), tropical tree, the only species of its genus (family Bignoniaceae). It grows 6 to 12 metres (20 to 40 feet) tall and bears sausagelike fruits, 30 to 60 cm (1 to 2 feet) long, which hang down on long, cordlike stalks. It is native to Africa.
The treeās flowers, about 10 cm (4 inches) wide, are purplish green in colour and are slightly irregular in shape or bent to one side. They are produced on old wood and so hang that they can be easily visited by bats, the principal pollinators. The flowers do not bloom until nightfall, when they emit a mouselike odour, and bats visit them for nectar and pollen. By morning the flowers have fallen.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.
Discover how ordinary objects work, and expand your understanding of the familiar.
" height="20" alt="HEW Logo">
By clicking "Sign Up", you consent to the Britannica Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.