Kigelia, the Sausage Tree

Africa · unusual plants · tropical trees

One Wild Species. Kigelia africana is the only tree in its genus, which means it's alone in its plant family branch. This special tree grows all across tropical Africa and has also been planted in other warm places around the world.

Trumpet Vine Cousin. Kigelia belongs to the Bignoniaceae family, which is famous for flowers shaped like trumpets. Its relatives include morning glory vines and catalpa trees that also have these beautiful funnel-shaped blooms.

Sausage Fruit Shape. The tree gets its nickname from its enormous hanging fruits that look exactly like lumpy sausages or big logs dangling from branches. These fruit pods are huge, hard, and definitely not meant for snacking by humans.

Beautiful Night Flowers. Kigelia produces stunning red, pink, or purple trumpet-shaped flowers that bloom at night and attract bats and insects. The flowers smell strong and sweet to help pollinators find them in the dark.

Tropical Tree Only. This tree thrives in warm, tropical climates and cannot survive in cold weather. It originally comes from Africa but grows well wherever it stays hot and humid year-round.