Tonga: Musangu.

Lozi: Munga.

Ila: Munga bwato.

Eng: Apple-ring acacia, Winter thorn.

Ecology: Widespread in semi-arid Africa on a wide range of soil types and in different climates. In Southern Province the tree is common in riverine zones of Sinazeze, Lochnivar and along Monze-Namwala road.

Uses: Firewood, charcoal, construction, posts, utensils, flavouring (pods), medicine (bark), fodder (pods and leaves), mulch, shade, nitrogen fixing, soil conser- vation and improvement, windbreak, tannin, dye (bark, roots), canoe marking.

Description: A large deciduous tree to 30 m high, crown wide and rounded. Bark: grey- brown cracked when old; young twigs shiny grey. Thorns: pairs of spines straight, to 2 cm. Leaves: compound, grey-green; loses leaves in rains. Flowers: in dense cream-yellow spikes about 10 cm, fragrant; seen in May-June on the bare tree, (therefore, winter thorn). Fruit: pods ripen in July-Sept., conspicuous thick, orange-brown, twisted in odd shapes, hard and shiny. Parts do not break open but rot to set free10-20 flat round seeds which lie in soft tissue.

Propagation: Seedlings, direct seeding.

Seed Info: No. of seeds per kg: 7,500-10,000.

Treatment: Nick the seed or soak in hot water and allow to cool for 24 hours.

Storage: Seed can be stored indefinitely if kept in a dry, cool place free from insects.

Management: Lopping, pollarding.

Remarks: Slow initial growth, later fairly fast-growing on good sites. Unripe pods can be poisonous to cattle. Widely used in W. Africa, where it is intercropped with sorghum and millet. It is deeprooted with little competition to food crops. Throughout Southern Province the tree is left on cropland. In Namwala district in chief Shimbizi's area the tree is protected by the Chief's initiative because it has been over exploited for making canoes.