Uses
Many farmers use the buffalo thorn as a natural fence, it is also becoming more popular for this reason in schools and domestic homes. Some Bantu tribes believe that it is safe to shelter under a buffalo thorn during a thunderstorm, as protection from lightning.
The leaves are edible, and can be cooked into tasty spinach; the fruit are also very nutritional, though not very tasty. The leaves can be used as an aphrodisiac, either by being chewed or used in dishes. During the Anglo-Boer war the stones were roasted and ground as a substitute for coffee. A beer can be made from the fruit. The Ovambo people call the fruit of the Buffalo Thorn eenghekete and use it to distill Ombike, their traditional liquor.
The Buffalo Thorn also has medicinal properties, an extract of the roots is given as a painkiller and a solution of the bark and leaves in water is used for chest complaints.
Read more about this topic: Ziziphus Mucronata