Desert Date

Balanites aegyptiaca, the desert date, is a tree native to much of Africa and parts of the Middle East, from Syria south to Yemen. It grows in many habitats and tolerates sand and heavy clay, and the article calls it an important food tree with edible leaves and fruits and many local uses. Other names include Egyptian balsam, lalob in Sudan, Egyptian myrobalan and Zachum oil tree. Wikipedia says it has been cultivated in Egypt for more than 4,000 years, and that stones placed in tombs as votive offerings have been found as far back as the Twelfth Dynasty. Bark extracts and the fruit repel or destroy freshwater snails and copepods that host parasites such as Schistosoma and guinea worm. Worm infections, liver and spleen disorders are treated with desert date, and a bark decoction is used in West African traditional medicine as an abortifacient and as an antidote for arrow poison.