Specimen View

Family: Bignoniaceae	Genus: Kigelia	Species: Kigelia africana (Lam.) Benth.

Habit	Leaf	Flower	Fruit	Bark

Synonym	Kigelia pinnata (Jacq.) DC.	Flower Color	Red - Pink
Common Name	Balam kheera, Balmkheera	Flower Type	Solitary
English / Trade Name	Cucumber /Sausage Tree	Flowering Period	April-June
Vernacular /Local Name	Balam kheera	Fruiting Period	July-Sept
Altitude	1000 m	Fruit Type	Capsule
Habit	Tree	Fruit Details	Fruit very unusual, sausage shaped, up to 1 m × 18 cm, greyish-brown, heavily dotted with lenticels, indehiscent, heavy, weighing up to 12 kg, containing a fibrous pulp in which are embedded many seeds.
Habitat	It is a medium to large tree, up to 25 m in height, primarily found in wet Savannah woodland spreading into gallery woodland and along rivers in moist forests.	Bark Type	Smooth
Distribution	Distributed in South,Cental and West Africa and also distributed all over India but found abundantly in West Bengal	Bark Details	Bark grey, generally smooth in large specimens, flaking in thin, round patches.
Distribution in chandigarh	Chandigarh Botanical Garden and Nature Park, Sector 22, Sector 23	Origin	Native
		Leaf Type	Compound
		Leaf Arrangement	Opposite (leaves in pairs along stem)
		Leaf Shape	Oblong
Description of Species	Plant up to 20 m in height, with a dense rounded crown; bark grey, generally smooth in large specimens, flaking in thin, round patches. leaves opposite, crowded near the ends of branches, compound. Flowers striking, red blood with heavy yellow veining on the outside, cup shaped, asymmetric, lax, pendulous sprays. Calyx shortly tubular with 2-5 ribbed lobes; corolla widely cup shaped with 5 broad spreading lobes; stamens 4, slightly protruding beyond the mouth of the corolla tube; ovary 1-chambered. Fruit very unusual, sausage shaped.	Leaf Details	Leaves opposite, crowded near the ends of branches, compound

Specimen's Details / Live Plants Details