Detarium microcarpum (), commonly known as sweet detar, sweet dattock or tallow tree, is an underutilized species of tree legume that grows naturally in the drier regions of West and Central Africa. It has a wide range of uses due to its medicinal properties, edible fruit (eaten raw, cooked, or made into flour with many uses of its own) and hardwood, which is used as fuel. This makes it valuable and appreciated by local communities, but further research and effort are needed for its domestication.
Description Detarium microcarpum is an African tree belonging to the family Fabaceae (legumes).Abdalbasit, Adam Mariod, Mohamed Elwathig S. Mirghani, Ahmad Bustamam Abdul and Siddig Ibrahim Abdelwahab. "Detarium microcarpum Guill and Perr fruit proximate chemical analysis and sensory characteristics of concentrated juice and jam," African Journal of Biotechnology 8 no.17 (2009): 4217-4221, accessed November 25, 2012, http://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajb/article/viewFile/62360/50337 It is a small tree or shrub growing up to 15 m tall but can reach 25 m in moist areas.Abdalbasit et al., "Detarium microcarpum Guill and Perr fruit proximate chemical analysis and sensory characteristics of concentrated juice and jam," 4217; A.M. Kouyaté and N. Lamien, "Detarium microcarpum, sweet detar," Conservation and Sustainable Use of Genetic Resources of Priority Food Tree Species in sub-Saharan Africa. Bioversity International 4 (2011): 4, accessed November 24, 2012, http://www.bioversityinternational.org/fileadmin/bioversityDocs/About_Us/Hosted_Services/SAFORGEN_leaflets/Detarium_EN.pdf In terms of growth rate, the shoots of the trunk can reach a height of 1.5 m – 2 m in 1 to 2 years and are much more vigorous than seedlings which on average grow to 0.6 m after 3 years and may reach 1.5 m in 4 years.A.M. Kouyaté and P. van Damme. "Medicinal plants/Plantes médicinales: Detarium microcarpum Guill. & Perr." Prota 11, no. 1 (2006). Accessed November 24, 2012. http://database.prota.org/PROTAhtml/Detarium%20microcarpum_En.htm It flowers during the rainy season (July to September/November), but the main flowering period only lasts up to 8 days. It bears fruit from September – January/May and in November; the tree sheds its leaves and produces new leaves in March.A.M. Kouyaté and P. van Damme. "Medicinal plants/Plantes médicinales: Detarium microcarpum Guill. & Perr." Prota 11, no. 1 (2006). Accessed November 24, 2012. http://database.prota.org/PROTAhtml/Detarium%20microcarpum_En.htm
Location and growing conditions Detarium microcarpum occurs naturally in the drier regions of West and Central Africa (Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan and Togo). Unlike the other species of its family, D. microcarpum grows in dry savanna, while Detarium senegalense grows in the dry forest, and Detarium macrocarpum grows in humid forest.Kouyaté and van Damme. "Medicinal plants/Plantes médicinales: Detarium microcarpum Guill. & Perr." Many different vernacular names exist for this species, including the English, sweet dattock or tallow tree, and the French, dankh or petit détar, as well as Abu-laili (in Sudan) or Tamba Dala (in Mali)."Detarium microcarpum," S. Contu; Abdalbasit et al., "Detarium microcarpum Guill and Perr fruit proximate chemical analysis and sensory characteristics of concentrated juice and jam," 4217
Propagation of this species may be vegetative or from seed. It is capable of vegetative propagation by coppice regeneration and suckering from stumps or roots, as well as propagation by rooted cuttings and grafting using scions from mature trees.Kouyaté and Lamien, "Detarium microcarpum, sweet detar," 6 This species is mainly found on shallow, stony and lateritic soils, often on hills, as well as in regions with an annual rainfall of 600–1000 mm.Kouyaté and van Damme. "Medicinal plants/Plantes médicinales: Detarium microcarpum Guill. & Perr." It is most common in wooded savannahs or savannahs, semi-cleared dry forest areas and fallows, growing in sandy or hard soils with high iron content.Kouyaté and Lamien, "Detarium microcarpum, sweet detar," 3
Other farming issues The seeds of D. microcarpum can be stored at ambient temperature (26 °C) for 5 years.Kouyaté and Lamien, "Detarium microcarpum, sweet detar," 3 The seed must be scarified to break dormancy before being planted –scarification through immersion in boiling water or sulphuric acid, and next soaking them in tepid water for 24 hours, or by removing the seed coat with a sharp object.Kouyaté and Lamien, "Detarium microcarpum, sweet detar," 6 The plant parts are harvested according to need and availability. Fruits are harvested from March to May and can be kept for 1–3 years in jute bags. Leaves are harvested from April to November and roots and bark are harvested year round, all of which are used fresh or dried for future use.Kouyaté and van Damme. "Medicinal plants/Plantes médicinales: Detarium microcarpum Guill. & Perr." Natural germination is hampered by bush fires and dry spellsKouyaté and van Damme. "Medicinal plants/Plantes médicinales: Detarium microcarpum Guill. & Perr." posing a threat to poor farmers. Extensive fruit collection, uncontrolled tree cutting, overgrazing and bushfires pose a threat to the species.A. M. Kouyaté, "Enquête ethnobotanique sur Detarium microcarpum Guill. et Perr. au sud du Mali," in: Domestication des espèces agroforestières au Sahel: Situation actuelle et perspectives ICRAF Working Paper No. 5. World Agroforestry Centre, ed. A Kalinganire, A. Niang and B Kone, (Nairobi, Kenya, 2005), quoted in A. Kalinganire et al., "Improving Rural Livelihoods through Domestication of Indigenous Fruit Trees in the Parklands of the Sagel," in Indigenous Fruit Trees in the Tropics: Domestication, Utilization and Commercialization edited by F. K. Akinnifesi, R. R. B. Leakey, O. C. Ajaui, G. Sileshi, Z. Tchoundjeu, P. Matakala. F. R. Kwesiga, (2007): 188
Stress tolerance Detarium microcarpum is heat and drought tolerant and capable of thriving on infertile sites."Sweet detar: Food, Fragrance, Fodder, and More," Kim Kido, Nourishing the Planet, accessed November 22, 2012, http://blogs.worldwatch.org/nourishingtheplanet/tag/detarium-senegalense/ The species is often found in relatively poor soils; farmers can distinguish if land is unproductive if the tree is abundant in that area. The tree bark's colour may also indicate the fertility of the land, with red indicating fertile soil and black indicating poor soil fertility.Kouyaté and Lamien, "Detarium microcarpum, sweet detar," 5 This tree shows some pest resistant properties. A methanol extract of the leaves exhibited strong deterrent activity against termites, specifically Reticulitermes speratus.Kouyaté and van Damme. "Medicinal plants/Plantes médicinales: Detarium microcarpum Guill. & Perr."
Genetic stocks Germplasm collections for D. microcarpum are held at the Institut d'Economie Rurale (IER) in Mali and at the Centre National des Semences Forestieres (CNSF) in Burkina Faso. Trees differ biochemically, in fruit length and width, protein content, with higher dry-matter per unit volume and sugar content in larger fruits than in smaller ones.Kouyaté and Lamien, "Detarium microcarpum, sweet detar," 4 Differences between tree populations are expressed morphologically based on fruit characteristics (endocarp shape, seed shape, pulp thickness) and on leaf characteristics of the seedlings grown from these fruits (number of leaves, and leaf length, width and area). The number of leaves at the seedling stage has been observed to be inversely proportional to pulp thickness of the pulp of the fruit the seedling is grown from.Kouyaté and Lamien, "Detarium microcarpum, sweet detar," 5.
Consumption and uses This species is highly appreciated by local peoples due to its variety of uses; it is said to be one of the most appreciated in the environments where it occurs naturally.Paulette Taïta, "Use of woody plants by locals in Mare aux Hippopotames Biosphere Reserve in western Burkina Faso," Biodiversity and Conservation 12 no. 6 (2003): 1211, accessed November 24, 2012, http://download.springer.com/static/pdf/914/art%253A10.1023%252FA%253A1023045316329.pdf?auth66=1353997997_8bf2675ae204539ac45ddcd043780af4&ext=.pdf The fruit can be eaten raw or cooked, but for the most part, its pulp is transformed into flour.Kouyaté and Lamien, "Detarium microcarpum, sweet detar," 2 The seed flour is a traditional emulsifying, flavouring and thickening agent used to prepare cakes, bread, couscous, baby food and local beer.Kouyaté and van Damme. "Medicinal plants/Plantes médicinales: Detarium microcarpum Guill. & Perr."; Kouyaté and Lamien, "Detarium microcarpum, sweet detar," 2 Its seed kernels are added to egusi soup, or are cooked and eaten as vegetables. The leaves are used as a condiment or vegetables, as are its flowers.Kouyaté and Lamien, "Detarium microcarpum, sweet detar," 3
Medicinal properties are in the roots, stems, bark, leaves and fruits to treat ailments including tuberculosis, meningitis and diarrhea.Abdalbasit et al., "Detarium microcarpum Guill and Perr fruit proximate chemical analysis and sensory characteristics of concentrated juice and jam," 4217 The species showed strong inhibitory effects on HIV-1 or HIV-2 infection in methanol extracts.Kouyaté and van Damme. "Medicinal plants/Plantes médicinales: Detarium microcarpum Guill. & Perr." Leaves and roots are also used to treat farm animals.Kouyaté, "Enquête ethnobotanique sur Detarium microcarpum Guill. et Perr. au sud du Mali," quoted in Kalinganire et al., "Improving Rural Livelihoods through Domestication of Indigenous Fruit Trees in the Parklands of the Sagel," 189
Detarium microcarpum has several other uses for rural communities, leaves being used to thatch roofs, seeds dried and made into necklaces or are ground and used as a fragrance (considered to have an aphrodisiac effect) and mosquito repellent prepared from the roots.Kouyaté, "Enquête ethnobotanique sur Detarium microcarpum Guill. et Perr. au sud du Mali," quoted in Kalinganire et al., "Improving Rural Livelihoods through Domestication of Indigenous Fruit Trees in the Parklands of the Sagel," 189 Leaves and roots are also used to treat farm animals.Kouyaté, "Enquête ethnobotanique sur Detarium microcarpum Guill. et Perr. au sud du Mali," quoted in Kalinganire et al., "Improving Rural Livelihoods through Domestication of Indigenous Fruit Trees in the Parklands of the Sagel," 18 Hardness, as well as its moisture, weathering and pest resistance makes it useful for construction and carpentry."Sweet detar: Food, Fragrance, Fodder, and More," Kim Kido It lights quickly making it high-quality fuel wood and charcoal.Kouyaté and Lamien, "Detarium microcarpum, sweet detar," 3