The sausage tree, north of Mbeya, Tanzania

Uporoto highlands is located in the south west of Tanzania in Mbeya region. It is one of the potential highlands endowed with numerous natural resources, including water sources and wildlife. The sausage tree, Kigelia africana (or Kigelia pinnata), belongs to the family Bignoniaceae. It is widespread across Africa and is found in wet savannah and riverine areas, where it occurs in abundance. The tree draws its name from its unique sausage-shaped fruit, suspended from long stalks, sometimes over a metre in length and weighing as much as 10kg. The hard, grey fruit has a thin skin covering a firm, fibrous fruit pulp containing numerous small, unwinged seeds. Kigelia has a long history of use by rural African communities, particularly for its medicinal properties. Most commonly, traditional healers have used the sausage tree to treat a wide range of skin ailments. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for Life magazine and traveled to Africa from January 8, 1947 to end of June 1947.