Senegalia macrostachya
Senegalia macrostachya is a thorny, sometimes climbing shrub or small tree in the pea family, Fabaceae. It grows in seasonally dry tropical Africa, from Senegal eastwards to South Sudan. Its seeds are known as zamnè in Burkina Faso, where they are used as food.[1][2]
Names and appearance
The species was previously called Acacia macrostachya. Its combination in Senegalia was published in 2013.[1] An IPGRI account describes a shrub branching low down, usually about two to eight metres tall. Its pale grey bark becomes fissured with age. The leaves divide into paired branches and then into small leaflets. Yellowish flowers form elongated spikes, followed by pods containing several flattened seeds.[3]
Food and other uses
Zamnè is a traditional food associated with Burkina Faso. Research published in 2020 found that the flattened, dry seeds were slow to cook. The sampled raw seeds contained about 40–44 grams of protein per 100 grams of dry material, alongside fat and dietary fibre. The study also found substantial losses of protein and carbohydrate into discarded cooking water. These measurements describe the studied samples and preparation method, not an identical nutritional composition for every harvest.[2]
The IPGRI account also records leaves used as livestock forage and wood used for fuel and fences.[3]
Seed and cultivation research
A 2025 study compared seeds collected from sixty shrubs in four provinces of Burkina Faso. It examined fruit maturity, seed origin and the number of seeds per pod, using both sand and a mixed growing medium. Mature-fruit seeds germinated more successfully than those from less mature fruits in both media. Seeds from two-seeded pods had the highest germination percentages among the pod-size groups tested.[4]
Seedling responses were more complicated: germination success, stem height and stem thickness did not all favour the same treatment. For example, seedlings from less mature fruits were taller, while those from mature fruits had thicker stems. These results identify factors relevant to propagation, without proving the long-term survival or productivity of cultivated trees.[4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. “Senegalia macrostachya”. Plants of the World Online. Accessed 9 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Drabo, M., and colleagues (2020). “Mapping the variability in physical, cooking, and nutritional properties of Zamnè, a wild food in Burkina Faso”. Food Research International 138, 109810. doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2020.109810; abstract in Ghent University bibliography. Accessed 9 October 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Eyog Matig, O., Gaoué, O. G., and Dossou, B. (eds, 2002). Réseau Espèces Ligneuses Alimentaires. IPGRI. Acacia macrostachya species account. Accessed 9 October 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Ouédraogo, H., and colleagues (2025). “Effect of provenance and traits of fruit on the seed germination of Senegalia macrostachya in Burkina Faso, West Africa”. Scientific Reports 15, 39709. doi:10.1038/s41598-025-23328-w. Accessed 9 October 2026.