The Fever Tree

Fever tree, Vachellia xanthophloea

Other names: Mgunga (Swahili), Ol-lerai (Maasai), Murera (Kikuyu)

You can recognise Fever trees by their greenish yellow bark. They usually grow around lakes and rivers and in swampy places. In fact, they got the name ‘fever tree’ because people visiting swampy areas often got sick and thought the trees were the cause. We now know that it is the mosquitoes in swampy areas that cause disease. The trees are innocent!  Not only do fever trees not cause fever, an extract from their bark is actually a traditional cure for malaria.