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The bangandré (Piliostigma reticulatum / Camel’s foot)* is a shrub that is used in many ways. Its leaves are added to sauces and stews as a leafy green and the pods are ground to a flour and used as a nutrient supplement for animals during the dry season. The bark and leaves have proven antiseptic and tranquilizing properties, and are used for medicinal purposes by the farmers.
The bangandré is also used as an indicator for when a field in fallow is ready to be planted. The fallowing practice includes digging pits in the soil and filling them with organic material and manure. Since the animals have eaten bangandré seeds, the application of manure means that these shrubs are early succession plants in the fallows. When the shrubs have reached a mature size, the farmers know that the soil is ready and can be planted again.
*All plant names in this series of posts are the local Moore names, with the scientific and/or English names in brackets.
Photo: Old bangandré bush in a shrubland, a bangandré pod & a couple of young bangandré shrubs in a fallow in village south of Ouahigouya, November 2014. Posted on Instagram January 13, 2021.
Katja Malmborg 