The Sunday Mail
Andrew Mangwarara
The 2015 Tree of the Year conjures old memories of herding cattle in the rural areas.
The African medlar, or velvet wild medlar, munzviru or munjiro in Shona and uMviyo in isiNdebele. Vangueria infausta for the botanically inclined is a tree of the Rubiaceae family.
It was a taboo to collect firewood of this tree. The only exception was to enjoy the fleshy brown fruits and allowing cattle to consume it.
It is a small tree which can be single or multi-stemmed growing up to 8m in height. And its size makes it a good subject for the garden.
Widely-distributed across the country, this tree is seen mostly in open miombo woodland. It bears whitish green flowers from September to November.
African medlar fruits are borne along the branches which can be grey and smooth becoming rough with age. The fruits are green at first becoming brown when ripe with a diameter which can reach about 4cm. The ripening of the fruit coincides with the late rain season from January up to April.
The leaves of the tree are velvety to the feel and appearance with infestations of lesions. It is a fairly easy tree to grow. Collect fruits from the tree for planting to avoid infections.
Most fruits contain three-five seeds which can be left to dry and then planted.
Soak the seeds overnight and then plant. You can cover the seed with river sand. Keep the compost moist until germination. Expect a germination percentage above 70 percent and a slow growth rate.
Transplant the seedlings at three leaf stage into single bags. Keep the plants for a year in the nursery. This tree can also be grown from cuttings but a rooting hormone like seradix is a prerequisite.
Nutritionally the fruit is a good source of vitamin C, carbohydrates, protein, calcium and magnesium. The medlar tree fruit has many traditional uses such as making a traditional brew, porridge and making vinegar.
Other uses of the fruit are making a substitute for apple sauce by mixing it with water and sugar. The seeds can be roasted and eaten as well.
Many traditional beliefs and uses are associated with the medlar tree chief among them its healing properties to treat pneumonia, chest pains and malaria.
An infusion of the roots and leaves was used for this. No doubt a subject for further research and development into medicines. Other traditional uses include treatment for snake bites, ringworms and pounded leaves are used to treat tick bite wounds on livestock.
As in the biblical times when Jacob caused the sheep of his father-in-law Laban to be born with blemishes, vangueria infausta is said to have the same powers to cause cattle to bear male offspring.
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