Kigelia africana

Sausage Tree

Message of the Flower

First Response of the Inconscient to the Divine Force

The Mother’s Comment

The first step towards transformation.

Spiritual Message by the Mother/ Quotes by Sri Aurobindo

The base of the material consciousness here is not only the Ignorance, but the Inconscience—that is, the consciousness is involved in form of matter and energy of matter.

Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - I: The Jivatman in the Integral Yoga

The Inconscience is an inverse reproduction of the supreme superconscience: it has the same absoluteness of being and automatic action, but in a vast involved trance; it is being lost in itself, plunged in its own abyss of infinity.

Sri Aurobindo, The Life Divine - I: Knowledge by Identity and Separative Knowledge

All evolution is the progressive self-revelation of the One to himself in the terms of the Many out of the Inconscience through the Ignorance towards self-conscient perfection.

Sri Aurobindo, Essays Divine and Human: Nature: The World-Manifestation

Colour

Dull maroon

Family

Bignoniaceae

Person who named the flower

Carl Peter Thunberg

Flower Size

Up to 6 inches long

Flower Texture

Waxy and leathery

Number of Petals

Five fused petals

Floral Symmetry

Radial

Fragrance of Flower

Strong, musky odor at night

Leaf Texture

Smooth and leathery

Leaf Arrangement

Opposite

Leaf Color

Deep green

Structural Variation (Shrub or Tree)

Tree

Life Cycle

Perennial

Blooming Period

Late spring to early summer

Climate

Tropical and subtropical

Water Requirements

Moderate, drought-tolerant once established

Soil Type

Well-drained sandy to loamy

Temperature Ranges

Not frost tolerant; warm climates

Sun or Shade

Full sun to partial shade

Susceptibility to Insects and Diseases

Few pests, susceptible to fungal diseases

Pollinators

Bats, nocturnal insects

Habitat

Savannahs, riverbanks, floodplains in Africa

Role in the Ecosystem

Food for wildlife including bats, birds, large mammals

Quotations

Not specifically quoted

Ornamental

Unique fruits, attractive flowers

Uses in Other Aspects of Life

Medicine, crafts, decorative plant

Endangered Status

Not endangered, but habitat loss affects some areas