Boscia senegalensis Lam. ex Poir.
Eng.: Aizen. Spa.: Aizen. Fre.: Boscia du Sénégal. Ara.: Mukheit, mukhet, um kheit, aizen, aïznaya, aïzoen, tundub, aizenayé (Hassanía), zzen, hanza, shagara al muknet, moheb, makhei, hemmet, bokkhelli, hemet, moheb, makhei (last 3 Choua) tsuh; the fruit: kursan. Tamahaq: Taedaent, tedent, taddant.
Shrub or small tree, 3-5(7) m in height, evergreen. Young branches cylindrical, pubescent. Leaves elliptic to ovate-elliptic, 3-7(12) × 2.4 cm, alternate, simple, entire, coriaceous, glabrous or finely pubescent, scabrid along the margin, obtuse or mucronate, reticulated, with pinnate venation, with 5-6 lateral veins that are pronounced on both sides. Petioles densely pubescent 3-8 mm. Stipules very small, submembranous, linear-subulate, brown and ± caducous. Inflorescences terminal, corymbiform. Flowers greenish, odorous, actinomorphic, minute, 3-5 mm. Pedicels glabrous or villous, longer than the flowers. Petals 0. Sepals 4, ovate, about 4 mm, briefly ciliate along the margin, stamens 8-20, exserted, 2-3 mm, longer than the gynophore. Fruit an edible nutlet, globose [0.8-1.5(2) cm], pustulate, somewhat tomentose; it contains a sugary pulp difficult to separate from the seeds. Seeds (1-4) greenish when ripe.
Flowering:
February to March.
Fruiting:
February to March.
Habitat:
Stony places, fissures of rocks.
Distribution:
Mainly Sahelian distribution, reaching towards the N to the western Sahara, the mountains of central Sahara (Ahaggar) and SE of Egypt.
Observations:
The fruits and seeds (similar to chickpeas) are edible and nutritious (with carbohydrates and proteins).
Conservation status:
Rare but widely distributed species. Currently, it has not been assessed at a global level in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. In the Red List of vascular plants of Egypt (Flora Aegyptiaca Vol 1, 2000) it is listed as “Endangered”. In Algeria it is included in the List of protected non cultivated flora (Executive Decree 12-03 on 4-Jan-2012).