Sausage Tree

Description:

Tree to 50 ft. Velvety, deep wine red flowers to 3 in across, wrinkled, 3 petals up, 2 down. Fruit is a long cylindrical hard woody "club" 1 1/2 to 2 ft. long by up to 6 in. diameter, hanging on long strings.

Habitat:

Native to tropical Africa, they are planted as an ornamental. The fresh fruit is poisonous and strongly purgative. They are prepared for consumption by drying, roasting or fermentstion. The fibrous interior of the pods has been fermented into beer.