The Incredible Art of Ugandan Tree Barks

Discover Uganda's heritage represented by its wealth of bark artwork trees. 

The thin, smooth, and grey-brown bark may flake with age. This bark is often included in traditional medicine for infertility, impotence and skin infections towards the Tooro region. 

An intangible representation of human heritage, visit us for exciting tales about favorite ceremonial wear for traditional marriage ceremonies in the Tooro region, Kings' coronation ceremonies, and funeral rites. A resource extracted from the bark cloth fig tree.

The trunk is armed with large conical woody spines, black-tipped on the younger branches which are generally whorled. The tree is a beautiful ornamental and showy avenue and has been planted at Tooro Botanical Gardens to promote native tree conservation.

The Uganda coral tree has a short trunk with a yellow-buff bark when fresh, grey-brown to creamy brown, deeply grooved, thickly corky and often armed with blunt woody spines; when damaged the tree exudes a brown, gummy sap. The species is widespread in Africa, found in savannahs throughout eastern and southern Africa.

Ficus ovata often starts life as an epiphyte in the branch of a tree and can eventually send down aerial roots that, once they reach the ground, provide extra nutrients that help the plant grow more vigorously. These aerial roots can completely encircle the trunk of the host tree, constricting its growth.

The East African satin wood tree is a deciduous tree up to 35m high, with a straight trunk armed with conical woody prickle-bearing protuberances up to 3cm in length. The bark is grey-brown, fairly smooth with small, vertical fissures. The bark is effective for male impotence.

The Haron fig is a huge tree up to 20m with a widely spreading crown, buttresses sometimes present. Its bark is rough, grey to pale brown. The bark was once used as a fabric and its wood is used to manufacture household utensils, mortars, water containers and canoes.

The Cordia africana bark is thick, dark to light brown and vertically fissured. The bark is used traditionally in treatment of broken bones in Uganda. The tree grows in grassland and forest edges  and can also be found at Tooro Botanical Gardens. 

Citropsis articulata is an evergreen shrub growing up to 5m. The bole, usually branches from the base, bark and branches are armed with thorns. Well known for its aphrodisiac properties, it is increasingly threatened by unsustainable methods of harvesting and habitat degradation.

From silver-grey to black in color, with smooth or rough lenticels, reticulately fissured, and flaking with occasional spines,  this bark defines the diversity of  beauty you must see at the Gardens.