Monkey Bread (Piliostigma thonningii) — Ihabahaba

Piliostigma thonningii is a small to medium-sized deciduous tree in the legume family, recognised by its distinctive bilobed leaves — each leaf split at the tip into two rounded lobes, giving it the look of a butterfly or an open book. The tree produces long, hard, brown seed pods that persist on the branches well into the dry season. These pods are eaten by cattle, goats, and — as the common name suggests — primates. The bark is rough and grey-brown, and the tree often grows in thickets on disturbed ground, along roadsides, and at the margins of cultivation.

The bark is the most commonly used medicinal part. A decoction of the root bark or stem bark, simmered in water for twenty to thirty minutes, is taken as a treatment for diarrhoea, dysentery, and stomach cramps across Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, and West Africa. The bark is rich in tannins, polyphenols, and saponins with demonstrated antibacterial and antidiarrhoeal activity — compounds that bind the bowel, reduce gut inflammation, and inhibit the growth of intestinal pathogens. Healers prescribe the warm tea on an empty stomach, in modest, measured amounts.

Leaf preparations are widely used for wound care and skin infections. Crushed fresh leaves are applied directly as a poultice to infected wounds, ulcers, and skin sores. The leaves are also boiled and the cooled liquid used as a wash for fungal infections of the skin and slow-healing abrasions. Several ethnobotanical studies have confirmed the antimicrobial and wound-healing activity of Piliostigma leaf extracts, validating what traditional healers across the savanna have long practised.

Root preparations are used for fever, malaria, and generalised body pain. A decoction of the roots is taken in small amounts for fever and chills, and is often combined with other bitter, cooling plants in the treatment of malaria-associated illness. Traditional healers in Zimbabwe use ihabahaba root alongside African wormwood and other bitter medicines as part of a broader fever protocol — never as a standalone cure, but as a supportive element in a carefully assembled combination.

The pods and seeds are nutritious and have been eaten during periods of food scarcity — ground into flour, boiled, or fed to livestock as a protein-rich supplement. The seed kernels are high in protein and fat and have been used in parts of West Africa to prepare a fermented condiment similar to locust bean. In traditional medicine, the pods are sometimes used in preparations for chest complaints and as a mild expectorant to ease congestion and persistent cough.