Dracaena mannii

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Dracaena mannii, commonly called the small-leaved dragon tree or Kalala Kabwe, is an evergreen tree found across tropical Africa. It can grow from small to very tall, up to about 35 meters with a trunk up to 2 meters in diameter. It occurs from Senegal to Angola on the west coast and from Kenya to northern KwaZulu-Natal on the east coast, in moist forests, swamps, coastal dunes, forest edges, clearings, and along rivers from sea level to 1,800 meters. The tree usually has a single stem or several branches near the base, sometimes with stilt roots. Leaves are long and narrow with many veins and cluster around the stem. Flowers are cream or white and fragrant at night, produced in terminal spikes. The fruit is a berry-like drupe about 3 centimeters across, turning bright red when ripe. The bark is white and papery; old bark is gray and rough and may exude resin. The plant contains substances that can inhibit fungi and bacteria. Traditional uses include treating nausea, parasites, swelling, mouth sores, wounds, stomach pains, and chest ailments; bark extracts have been used as arrow-poison, leaf ash for soap, and roots for stomach ache and gonorrhea. Young leaves can be eaten as a vegetable. It can be propagated from seed, leaf cuttings, or rhizomes, and ripe fruits are used as fish poison. The species is listed as Least Concern.