Kumuchaso - The fire tree.

  KUMUCHASO (sapium ellipticum)

Derivation of the name: Chinchaso - means sparks. The red mature leaves among the green leaves  make a fire of spark like appearance. The red mature leaves look like sparks of fire.

Natural habitat and distribution in Bungoma district: Habitat: highland forest, secondary forests, forest edges and fringing forest, river banks. Distribution: common in riverine vegetation, forest relicts, clump bushland near to water, left in cultivated land.

Description: Bark grey to light brown, fissured and removed in longitudinal stripes. Leaves alternate, elliptic to lanceolate, margins crenate serrate, glabrous shiny dark green, running red before falling. Flowers  yellow-green, in acting like hanging spikes up to 5 cm long, female flowers at base. Fruit a drupe, yellow-green but turning black when ripe, less than 1cm in diameter.

The Grey moth larvae causes the seeds to jump (thus the jumping tree.)

Physical features: Shape: medium sized tree up to 20 cm high, single stemmed, straight growth, high branching. Crown: spreading, bending branches. Foliage: evergreen, dense, impermeable.

Biological features: Mulch: Good quality, the leaves decompose fairy slow. Tree/crop association: no competition with crops as indicated by the propensity to leave the tree in cultivated land, not recommended for cotton and tobacco. Other characteristics: resistant to browsing, liable to borer attack, wood medium to light.

Reproduction:  natural seeding.

Management: lopping, pollarding. Prolific regrowth of straight branches after pollarding in 4-6m height.

Ecological benefits: soil fixation, soil conservation along river banks, windbreak.

Tree products and use: timber, posts, mulch, firewood, charcoal, shade.

Medicinal application: Bark: Headache. Bark/roots: arthritis, malaria, STD, endwasi. Roots: Hump.