Balanites aegyptiaca
(L.) Delile · speciesAt a glance
Sources13 archives
Databases and archives Balanites aegyptiaca's data was compiled from.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation14 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility7 107 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI4 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics16 specimens↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinesequences↗
LOTUSNatural Products (Wikidata)compounds↗
NPASSNat. Product Activity & Species Sourcecompounds↗
GRIN TaxonomyUSDA-ARSdistribution & uses↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
CCDBChromosome Counts DB · Tel Aviv U.genome & karyotype↗
WikidataWikimedia Foundationstructured facts↗
GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.
Balanites aegyptiaca - MHNT Detail of fruit Balanites aegyptiaca (also known as the Egyptian balsam) is a species of tree, classified as a member of either the Zygophyllaceae or the Balanitaceae. This tree is native to much of Africa and parts of the Middle East. There are many common names for this plant. In English the fruit has been called desert date, soap berry tree or bush, Thron tree, Egyptian myrobalan, Egyptian balsam or Zachum oil tree; in Arabic it is known as lalob, hidjihi, inteishit, and heglig (hijlij). In Jieng it is called Thou or thau, in Hausa it is called aduwa, in Tamasheq, the Tuareg language taboraq, in Fulfulde (Pulaar) Murtooki or Tanni, in Swahili mchunju, in Kamba Kilului and in Amharic bedena.Yves Guinand and Dechassa Lemessa, "Wild-Food Plants in Southern Ethiopia: Reflections on the role of 'famine-foods' at a time of drought" UN-OCHA Report, March 2000 (accessed 15 January 2009)
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
Size & morphology6
Life cycle & reproduction6
Diet & foraging1
Habitat & environment7
Physiology & chemistry9
Compounds documented for Balanites aegyptiaca across natural-product and food-composition databases — not just the ~150 nutrients on a classic label ("nutritional dark matter").
Compound class profile5 classes
Documented compounds40 total
| Compound | Class | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| (+)-Marmesin | present | LOTUS | |
| (10R)-10-methylheptacosane | present | LOTUS | |
| (1S,2R,3R,4S,5S,6S,8S,9S,10R,13S,16R,17R)-11-ethyl-6-methoxy-13-(methoxymethyl)-11-azahexacyclo[7.7.2.12,5.01,10.03,8.013,17]nonadecane-4,8,16-triol | present | NPASS | |
| (1S,2R,3S,5R,6S,8S,9S,10R,13S,16R,17R)-11-ethyl-8,16-dihydroxy-6-methoxy-13-(methoxymethyl)-11-azahexacyclo[7.7.2.12,5.01,10.03,8.013,17]nonadecan-4-one | present | NPASS | |
| (1S,2R,4R,5'R,6S,7R,8S,9S,12S,13R,16R)-5',7,9,13-tetramethylspiro[5-oxapentacyclo[10.8.0.02,9.04,8.013,18]icos-18-ene-6,2'-oxane]-16-ol | present | LOTUS | |
| (1S,2S,4S,5'S,6R,7S,8R,9S,12R,13R,16S)-5',7,9,13-tetramethylspiro[5-oxapentacyclo[10.8.0.02,9.04,8.013,18]icos-18-ene-6,2'-oxane]-16-ol | present | LOTUS | |
| (2R,3R,4R,5R,6S)-2-[(2R,3R,4R,5R,6S)-2-[(3S,4R,5S,6R)-6-[(2S,3R,4S,5R)-4,5-dihydroxy-2-[[(1S,2S,4S,6S,7S,8R,9S,12S,13R,16R)-6-hydroxy-7,9,13-trimethyl-6-[(3R)-3-methyl-4-[(2R,3R,4S,5S,6R)-3,4,5-trihydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)oxan-2-yl]oxybutyl]-5-oxapentacyclo[10.8.0.02,9.04,8.013,18]icos-18-en-16-yl]oxy]oxan-3-yl]oxy-4-hydroxy-5-[(2S,3R,4S,5R)-3,4,5-trihydroxyoxan-2-yl]oxyoxan-3-yl]oxy-4,5-dihydroxy-6-methyloxan-3-yl]oxy-6-methyloxane-3,4,5-triol | present | LOTUS | |
| (2R,3R,4R,5R,6S)-2-[[(2R,3S,4S,5R,6R)-3,4-dihydroxy-6-[[(3S,8S,9S,10R,13S,14S,16S,17S)-16-hydroxy-17-[(1S)-1-hydroxyethyl]-10,13-dimethyl-2,3,4,7,8,9,11,12,14,15,16,17-dodecahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-yl]oxy]-5-[(2S,3R,4R,5R,6S)-3,4,5-trihydroxy-6-methyloxan-2-yl]oxyoxan-2-yl]methoxy]-6-methyloxane-3,4,5-triol | present | LOTUS | |
| (2R,3R,4S,5S,6R)-2-[[(3S,8R,9S,10R,12S,13S,14R,16S,17R)-12-hydroxy-10,13-dimethyl-17-[(2R)-6-methylheptan-2-yl]-16-[(2R,3R,4S,5S,6R)-3,4,5-trihydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)oxan-2-yl]oxy-2,3,4,7,8,9,11,12,14,15,16,17-dodecahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-yl]oxy]-6-(hydroxymethyl)oxane-3,4,5-triol | present | LOTUS | |
| (2R,3R,4S,5S,6R)-2-[[(3S,8S,9S,10R,13S,14S,16S,17S)-16-hydroxy-17-[(1S)-1-hydroxyethyl]-10,13-dimethyl-2,3,4,7,8,9,11,12,14,15,16,17-dodecahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-yl]oxy]-6-(hydroxymethyl)oxane-3,4,5-triol | present | LOTUS |
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Balanites aegyptiaca has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
The complete instruction manual Balanites aegyptiaca carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
2n 165×CCDB · book-indian_vol1 · CCDB · book-fedorov · CCDB · Cave1957
2n 184×CCDB · ipcn-api-dl · CCDB · book-indian_vol1 · CCDB · book-fedorov +1
2n 361×CCDB · book-indian_vol1
n 91×CCDB · ipcn-api-dl
n 181×CCDB · ipcn-api-dl
Record type7 107 records
Range
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Holding institutions21 of 45 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
| Institution | Specimens |
|---|---|
| Saint Louis, US | 45 |
| Yaoundé, CM | 22 |
| Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznańlocation not on record | 19 |
| Berlin, DE | 14 |
| Xiamen, CN | 11 |
| MeiseBGlocation not on record | 11 |
| Wlocation not on record | 11 |
| Uppsala, SE | 10 |
| Frankfurt am Main | 10 |
| Kew, GB | 10 |
| Paris, FR | 10 |
| HNBlocation not on record | 9 |
| IFAN Ch. A. Dioplocation not on record | 8 |
| TAFORI-LSRClocation not on record | 8 |
| Université du Lomélocation not on record | 7 |
| Dehra Dun, IN | 6 |
| Rishon Le Zion, IL | 5 |
| Uniwersytet Jagiellońskilocation not on record | 5 |
| Bronx, US | 5 |
| Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, United States National Herbariumlocation not on record | 4 |
| National Museums of Kenyalocation not on record | 4 |
| Miami, US | 4 |
| CJBGlocation not on record | 4 |
| MAlocation not on record | 3 |
| EFGlocation not on record | 3 |
| University of Hargeisalocation not on record | 3 |
| University of Arizona, Laboratory of Tree-Ring Researchlocation not on record | 3 |
| Leiden University Medical Centerlocation not on record | 3 |
| Stockholm, SE | 2 |
| University of Stellenboschlocation not on record | 2 |
| South Kensington, GB | 2 |
| GZUlocation not on record | 2 |
| Moscow State Universitylocation not on record | 1 |
| Tampa, US | 1 |
| CNF-UFHBlocation not on record | 1 |
| Addis Ababa, ET | 1 |
| Chongqing Museumlocation not on record | 1 |
| Centre de Recherche en Sciences Naturelles (CRSN/Lwiro)location not on record | 1 |
| EAlocation not on record | 1 |
| Arusha, TZ | 1 |
| Pondicherry, IN | 1 |
| DSMlocation not on record | 1 |
| Claremont, US | 1 |
| Madison, US | 1 |
| Edinburgh, GB | 1 |
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Where the DNA of Balanites aegyptiaca was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Where its DNA was found
How strong is each trace?
Modelled climatemodelled
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.