Title: Trees, shrubs and shrubs of Mauritania and their uses

Description:

Very branched thorny shrub, 4 to 5 m high, port in umbel. Smooth, brown or blackish bark detaching superficially in small brown films that roll up. Axillary spines, straight, white and arranged in pairs. Leaves alternate, bipinnate. Flowers in spherical heads in golden yellow balls. Fruits: narrow, red, slightly spiral, dehiscent pods, constricted between the seeds when ripe.

Distribution: Saharo-Sahelian species that thrives on rocky terrain, regs and any shallow soil. It is a very common species throughout the country.

Uses:

• The highly nutritious leaves, fruits and flowers (Teidichma) are highly valued by goats, sheep and camels during the dry season.

• The wood is used to make tool handles, or as firewood and charcoal. • Many uses in pharmacopoeia:

- the fresh or dried leaves, macerated in curdled milk, give a purgative drink which treats colic and indigestion. They are also used against excess lipids, ulcers and wounds;

- the gum is ocular aniseptic and purgative;

- the flowers are aspirated to treat facial neuralgia.

- seedless pods are a treatment for diabetes and phlegm;

- the bark treats burns. It is used as a tea when it is lacking.

Author: Ahmedou Soulé