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Sausage tree

Habit (mature) - Wikimedia Commons - CC BY-SA 3.0

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Sausage tree

Kigelia africana

A large, spreading tropical tree from sub-Saharan Africa, famous for the enormous grey, sausage-shaped fruits that dangle on long cord-like stalks beneath its rounded crown. Honesty first: where it is hardy (USDA zones 10a-12b) it grows into a 30-60 foot evergreen-to-semi-deciduous shade tree, and at night it opens large, maroon, foul-smelling, cup-shaped flowers that are pollinated by bats. The fruits are the headline and the hazard — they can reach about 2 feet long and weigh several pounds, and a falling fruit can genuinely injure a person or dent a car, so it must never be sited over patios, walks, or parking. The raw fruit is toxic and purgative to humans; it is used only after careful processing in traditional medicine and skincare, never eaten raw. It is frost-tender and strictly a warm-climate specimen tree, not a temperate-garden plant.

Climate fit: narrow (30/100)

Focal point

Structure

Light

Full sun

Water

Moderate water

Mature size

360-720" tall · 360" apart

Hardy in zones

10a-12b

mild to frost-free winters

Native in Illinois

The famous sausage-shaped fruit is toxic and purgative to humans when raw and must never be eaten off the tree — raw fruit, and the seeds, can cause serious digestive upset.

°C

°F

Cold hardiness

Future

2050

2100

These values are location-based: this location's current hardiness is the baseline, and the 2050 value is a projected future climate for this same location.

Now

Zone 6b

USDA

Published baseline for this location from 1991-2020.

Source: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (1991-2020 climatology) via ArcGIS FeatureServer

Won't grow here

2050

Zone 7a

Plotwright

Projected zone for this same location in 2050 (2041-2070) using SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry).

Won't grow here

In plain terms: This location is in Zone 6b today. Its hardiness profile is cold winters, and coldest nights are typically around -3°F. By 2050, the projected hardiness zone is Zone 7a based on SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry). That is a +0.5-zone shift from Zone 6b to Zone 7a by 2050.

Out of range today and still out of range in 2050.

Heat tolerance

Future

2050

2100

Heat tolerance values are location-based too: heat days today are observed at this site, and the 2050 value projects this same location under a future climate.

Loading AHS heat-zone data for this location...

Where this plant fits

Suitable across 17 ecoregions — 11 climate-resilient through 2070 · 6 newly possible by 2070. Best matches first.

Atlantic coastal pine barrens

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California coastal sage and chaparral

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Central Pacific Northwest coastal forests

Eastern Australian temperate forests

New Zealand North Island temperate forests

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Northern Pacific Alaskan coastal forests

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What it needs

Conditions

Light

Full sun

Water

Moderate water

Spacing

360"

Habit

Large spreading, rounded-crowned tropical shade tree (30-60 feet)

Care tips

•

Treat frost as the hard limit: grow it in the open ground only in nearly frost-free climates (USDA zones 10a-12b); everywhere colder it is not a viable landscape tree.

•

Site it deliberately in open ground far from patios, walks, driveways, and parking — the heavy fruits, up to about 2 feet and several pounds, fall without warning and can injure people or damage property.

•

Give it full sun, deep well-drained soil, and plenty of room for a 30-60 foot spreading crown and a wide root system; water young trees through dry spells, then lean on its deep roots as it matures.

Lifecycle

Planting

Where it is hardy (USDA zones 10a-12b), plant in spring in full sun in deep, well-drained soil, giving it a great deal of room — it becomes a broad 30-60 foot tree with a wide, spreading crown and a substantial root system. Site it deliberately in open ground well away from patios, walkways, driveways, and parking, since the heavy fruits fall without warning and can injure people or damage property. Space it about 30 feet from other large trees and structures.

Transplanting

Move young trees while small and in active warm-season growth, since a deep-rooted specimen resents disturbance and is hard to relocate once established. Plant nursery stock at the same depth it grew, water it in well, and avoid transplanting in cool or wet conditions that check its tropical growth.

Early growth

Young trees grow fast in warmth (well above 60°F) with full sun and steady moisture through dry spells; protect them from any frost, which damages or kills tender growth. Establish the root system with regular watering in the first seasons, then let the tree rely more on its deep roots as it matures.

Maturity

A mature tree forms a broad, rounded, 30-60 foot canopy that casts heavy shade, opens its maroon night flowers, and eventually hangs the enormous sausage-shaped fruits on long stalks. It is long-lived in frost-free climates; the dominant management concern is the falling-fruit hazard beneath the canopy rather than pests or disease.

Propagation

Propagate from fresh seed cleaned from the ripe fruit, which germinates readily in warmth, or from semi-hardwood cuttings. Seedlings take many years to reach flowering and fruiting size, so it is grown as a long-term specimen rather than a quick result.

Sources & citations

Cite this page

For lesson plans, articles, or research that uses this page. To cite a single upstream fact instead, use its specific source listed below.

Plotwright. (2026, May 17). Sausage tree (Kigelia africana). Retrieved 2026, June 14, from https://plotwright.garden/plants/kigelia-africana

Sources for every fact

Every fact on this page traces to a source. 18 fields cited - 18 source-backed.

GBIF

Botanical research database

Backs 17 fields

Identity

Summary

Plant type

Light

Moisture

Hardiness

Heat zone

Size

Spacing

Habit

Design roles

Seasonal interest

Growth stages

Lifecycle

Regional guidance

Success tips

Designer notes

Open source

Source guide

Wikimedia Commons

Photo · CC BY-SA 3.0

Backs 1 field

Image

Open source

Source guide

Wikipedia (ecoregion articles)

Botanical research database

Open source

Source guide

Sausage tree

At a glance

Why it matters

Cold hardiness

Heat tolerance

Where this plant fits

What it needs

Lifecycle

Pollination

For people

Climate notes

In the designer

Sources & citations