Sausage (Kigelia Africana)

This curious African native features an ungainly, wide-spreading crown of coarse foliage. Its stout, drooping branches are bare for much of their length but terminate in a profusion of large, leathery, sallow-green pinnate leaves.

The Sausage Tree boasts a flagellate inflorescence that is pendulous and composed of a sumptuous cascade of crinkled, finely pleated trumpet-shaped flowers. These blooms are yellow-ochre on the outside and lined with dark red on the inside. Due to their convenient structure and succulent nature, the flowers are a food source for cattle and antelope.

After flowering, the tree produces obese, heavy, tawny, sausage-like fruits that dangle from long, stout cords. These fruits can weigh up to 6.8 kg (15 lb) and pose a danger to those below when they fall.