Caesalpinia Bonduc / Fevernut, 15 seeds /$5, shipping $10, phyto certificate $12

15 seeds/purchase

General Information

Fever but is a climbing plant with stems up to 15 metres long that are usually armed with robust prickles.

The plant is commonly used as a medicinal herb in the areas where it grows, being mainly harvested from the wild. The plant is occasionally cultivated for its seed oil.

In tropical Africa the plant has become naturalized around inland villages, probably as a result of the seeds being transported for medicinal use and for use in popular board games.

This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby.

Edible Uses:

The oil from the seeds is used for cooking.

Medicinal:

Bonduc nut is considered to be an important herb in traditional medicine in Africa, tittle research has been carried out into any active medical constituents, apart from the seed and roots, where several compounds have been identified. The plant contains the febrifuge bonducine.

The seeds are antibacterial, anticancer, antifungal, antiviral, febrifuge, hypocholesterolemic, hypoglycaemic, mildly purgative, stomachic and tonic. 

Bonducin, a bitter extract obtained in generous quantities from the seed cotyledons, is commonly known as ‘poor man’s quinine’ because it is used as a treatment for malaria. The powdered kernel of the seed is taken with water to treat diabetes. The seeds are used to soothe stomach disorders.

The seed contains about 20% oil that is especially rich in linoleic acid (68%) and has vesicant properties. The oil is used to treat rheumatism.

The leaves are an ingredient of a famous cough formula.

Throughout the distribution area of Caesalpinia bonduc in Africa its leaves, bark and roots are used to cure fever, headache and chest pain and as an anthelmintic. In West Africa the plant is used as a rubefacient and as a tonic in the treatment of jaundice, diarrhoea and skin eruptions. At the Kenyan coast the seed and decoctions of the leaves and roots are taken to treat asthma and complications during menstruation, to avoid miscarriage, and as eye-drops to treat internal blood clots in the eye.
Agroforestry Uses:

Other Uses:

The seeds are widely used as beads for necklaces, bracelets, rosaries etc, as marbles, and are also used as weights and as counters in board games.

An oil obtained from the seed is used in cosmetic preparations.

Propagation:

Seed - pre-soak for 12 - 24 hours in warm water prior to sowing. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on until large enough to plant out.
Softwood cuttings in sand in a frame.