Sunday, July 1, 2007

The sausage tree of the carribbean

Here is a tree i photographed in a shopping square in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands...


The tree is of the genus Kigelia and is native to tropical Africa.
I keep seeing a very similar tree all around Chennai. It has green sausage like fruits hanging from its branches. With time the sausages turn brown, then the brown casing falls off to reveal a white interior that looks almost like it is made of thick cotton pads stitched together. Interesting isnt it? I havent managed to take a picture of one of these yet. Am really curious to find out if it is the same as the sausage trees of african origin.