Boscia senegalensis

Boscia senegalensis, commonly known as hanza, is a member of the family Capparaceae. The plant originated from West Africa. Still a traditional food plant in Africa, this little-known fruit has potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development and support sustainable landcare. Boscia senegalensis is a perennial woody plant species of the genus Boscia in the caper family, Capparaceae. This plant is classified as a dicot. Native to the Sahel region in Africa, this evergreen shrub can grow anywhere from 2 to 4 m (6 ft 7 in to 13 ft 1 in) in height under favourable conditions. The leaves of the plant are small and leathery, reaching 12 cm × 4 cm (4.7 in × 1.6 in). B. senegalensis produces fruits, clustered in small bunches, in the form of yellow spherical berries, up to 1.5 cm (0.59 in) in diameter. These fruits contain 1–4 seeds, which are a greenish hue when mature. Boscia senegalensis is recognized as a potential solution to hunger and a buffer against famine in the Sahel region due to the variety of useful products it yields. It produces products for consumption, household needs, and medicinal and agricultural uses. Common names include: aizen (Mauritania), mukheit (Arabic), hanza (Hausa), bere (Bambara), ngigili (Fulani), mandiarha (Berber), anza (Zarma) and taedent (Tamasheq). The fruits are also known as dilo (Hausa), bokkhelli (Arabic), gigile (Fulani) and kanduwi (Tamasheq). Boscia senegalensis is a wild species, native to the Sahel region in Africa. It has not yet been domesticated. It currently grows in: Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, and Togo. Ethnobotanical indigenous knowledge contributes to the importance of this plant to the Hausa peoples of Niger and Fulani herders in West Africa. During the famine of 1984–1985, it was reported that B. senegalensis was the most widely consumed famine food in both Sudan and Darfur, relied on by over 94% of people in northern Darfur. Boscia senegalensis grows in altitudes of 60–1,450 m (200–4,760 ft), in temperatures between 22–30 °C (72–86 °F) and with rainfall conditions of 100–500 mm (3.9–19.7 in) annually. It can be found growing in marginal soils: rocky, lateritic, clay stony hills, sand dunes, and sand-clay plains. These characteristics make it a highly resilient species, able to grow without expensive inputs even in the extremely hot and dry desert region of the Sahel. Herein lies its significance for poor farmers – in times of severe drought and famine, when many other crops have failed, B. senegalensis can still survive and provide useful products.