Piliostigma thonningii, known as Camel's Foot Tree or Monkey Bread, is a vital African medicinal plant used for antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant treatments, addressing ailments like fever, cough, dysentery, skin issues, and snakebites, with roots, bark, leaves, and pods used for various preparations.
Camel's foot (Piliostigma thonningii, family Fabaceae) is a shrub or tree 3 to 15 metres tall with a rounded crown and a short, often crooked trunk. It is named for its leaves, which are split at the tip into two rounded lobes like the print of a camel's foot. Male and female flowers grow on separate plants, so only female trees bear fruit. The fruits are flat, brown, woody pods 15 to 20 cm long that stay on the tree for a long time and finally rot on the ground, releasing pea-sized seeds. Fibre from the inner bark has long been used for string and rope.
The species ranges across tropical Africa from Sierra Leone to Ethiopia and south to South Africa, in woodland, wooded grassland and bushland from sea level to about 1,830 metres, where rainfall is 600 to 1,500 mm a year. It is a pioneer that quickly colonises clearings and fallow farmland. It has deep roots, suckers freely, regrows after cutting, and, like many legumes, fixes nitrogen in the soil.
Source: Useful Tropical Plants database (Fern, K.).
Medicinal Uses & Properties
Respiratory Issues: Treats coughs, bronchitis, and chest complaints.
Gastrointestinal Disorders: Used for dysentery, diarrhea, stomachaches, and gastritis.
Infections: Applied for skin diseases, wounds, chronic ulcers, and microbial infections.
Fever & Pain: Helps with fevers, toothaches, and joint pains.
Other Uses: Remedies for snakebites, hookworms, malaria, gonorrhea, and HIV opportunistic diseases.
Bioactivity: Possesses antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antidiarrheal properties, attributed to flavonoids, tannins, and other phytochemicals.
Plant Parts Used
Roots & Bark: Decoctions for respiratory and gastrointestinal issues.
Leaves: Applied topically for wounds and burns.
Pods: Pulp around seeds is edible; pods and seeds yield dyes.
A solution of boiled leaves used in fermenting palp.
A hardy tree of savanna woodland, tolerant of fire, drought, and poor soils.