Common Name:

General Information

Combretum glutinosum is a fairly fast-growing shrub or small tree reaching a height of up to 12 metres[, ]. It loses its leaves for a few months during the dry season in the drier areas of its range, but is evergreen in the savannah[].
The tree is much used for medicine and as a dye. Although it is not cultivated, it is often conserved when land is cleared[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Western Tropical Africa - from Senegal as far east as Sudan.

Habitat

Savannah and open woodland with an annual rainfall of 200 - 900 mm[]. It often grows gregariously on sandy and degraded soils.[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Semi-deciduous Shrub
Height	12.00 m
Growth Rate	Fast
Cultivation Status	Semi-cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of the arid to semi-arid tropics, succeeding in areas where the annual mean rainfall is in the range 200 - 900mm[].
Thrives best on sandy and other free-draining soils[]. Established plants are very drought tolerant[]. Plants are particularly resistant to arid conditions, surviving where grasses will not, and recovering quickly from burning[].
Flowering is in the dry season after bush fires to which it is very resistant[]. Once established in an area, it easily forms dense stands[].
The tree coppices well[].
Plants are often infected by Loranthaceae plant parasites[].

Edible Uses

The fresh young leaves, though bitter-tasting, are occasionally eaten as a vegetable[].

Medicinal

Combretum glutinosum is highly valued in traditional medicine and modern research has shown the presence of various medically active compounds in the plant[]. Combreglutinin, one of the tannins present, has interesting medicinal properties, particularly for the treatment of hepatitis B[]. Other proven medicinal effects of the plant are promoting the discharge of urine, reduction of hypertension, discharge of bladder stone and antitussive and disinfectant properties of the leaves[].

A decoction or infusion of the leaves, bark or fruits is a very popular medication, mainly to treat urinary, liver and kidney complaints, but also all kinds of respiratory problems, fevers, intestinal complaints and to clean wounds and sores[].
Applied externally, the crushed or dry powdered leaves or bark are used as a dressing on wounds[]. The Maninka people take a leaf decoction in baths and by draught against general fatigue[].

The gum of the bark is used to fill the cavity of a carious tooth[].

Young shoots and roots are believed to have aphrodisiac properties[].

Other Uses

The leaves, stems and root bark, collected from the wild, are important sources of yellow to brownish yellow dyes for cotton textiles[]. These dyes are also used to dye mats made of various vegetable fibres[].
The main importance of Combretum glutinosum however, is in the preparation of the internationally renowned 'bogolanfini' or 'bogolan' textiles. The black designs of bogolan are obtained by the reaction of plant tannins with iron salts contained in local fermented mud. While the basic process of making black dyes with tannin-plants and mordanting with iron-rich mud has been known all over the world and is still very much used in other parts of Africa for barkcloth and vegetable fibres, the special art of bogolan originally belongs to the women of several peoples of the Mande group: Bamanan, Dogon, Malinke, Minianka, Bobo and Senoufo. Formerly it was used to decorate garments for special groups of people and special occasions, imparting them symbolic protective and curative powers, but recently these cloths have attracted the attention of the international fashion world[].

The plant is also used in indigo dyeing; the wood ash being particularly appreciated to maintain the indigo vat at the optimum alkaline pH[].

The wood smoke is used for fumigation and as an incense[].

The wood is yellowish, hard, heavy and very durable. It is used in house construction, for tool handles and general carpentry[, , ].
The wood makes a good fuel and is used in making charcoal[, ].

Propagation

Seed - removing the covering structures from the seeds improves the rate of germination[]. Extraction is done manually by pulling apart opposite wings[]. The optimum temperature for germination is between 25 and 30C, where 100% of seeds germinate[]. Germination rates of 70% or more are achieved at temperatures between 15 to 35C[].
The seed stores well. Germination rates up to 86% have been achieved after 18 month storage in a cool room at 4C[].

Add a Comment:

If you have any useful information about this plant, please leave a comment. Comments have to be approved before they are shown here.

Name:

Email(Private):

Message:

Captcha: what is half of 6?