Swartzia
Swartzia madagascariensis
This tree is known as msekeseke in Swahili, snake bean tree in English due to the shape of its pods. It is traded as paurosa.
It is widely distributed across wooded habitats in Africa. In Kilwa District most specimens occur in intact miombo, often on sandy soil. It is usually small, with thick, rough grey bark with longitudinal cracks and a light, rounded crown. For several months each year the tree is bare, although the cylindrical chocolate-brown seed pods remain and make it quite distinctive. When damaged the tree exudes a dark-colour gum and a pea-like scent. The leaves have an odd number (imparapinnate) of greyish coloured leaflets with yellow hairs on the underside. The tree bears fragrant pale, pea-like flowers followed by the pods that release 10-15 seeds when the sticky yellow flesh around them rots on the ground.
There is much logging interest in the tree in the District at the moment because it produces a dark, fine-grained timber suitable for turnery and carving. As the timber sometimes turns purply black, it has been recorded as a substitute for mpingo. The timber is termite-resistant and is occasionally used by villagers, who also value the tree's medicinal properties. The pods are nitrogen-rich food for cattle.
 S. madagascariensis leaf
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 S. madagascariensis pod
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 S. madagascariensis log
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