Phyllogeiton discolor
species of tree
Phyllogeiton discolor (syn. Berchemia discolor), known as bird plum or brown ivory in English, is a tree native to southern and eastern Africa including Madagascar. It is a broadleaf tree growing to 18 m (60 ft).
The fruits, resembling dates, are edible with sweet flesh surrounding 1-2 flat seeds. They are occasionally sold in local markets, eaten fresh, or dried and pounded and then added to pearl millet pap for their sweet flavour. Animals such as monkeys, baboons and birds also eat them.
Ecology
The leaves are eaten by elephants, giraffe and several antelopes, as well as livestock, such that many trees exhibit a distinct browse line. The wood is hard and attractive, suitable for furniture, charcoal, building material, beehives, crafts, and things like tool handles and pestles.
Uses
Phyllogeiton discolor is also used as a dye, fodder, ornamental tree and as herbal medicine to treat several human and animal diseases and ailments. For instance, the Himba people cook the bark against nausea and diarrhoea.
“Phyllogeiton discolor” enters the record as species of tree. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Phyllogeiton, discolor and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q98110440. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Phyllogeiton discolor” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.