[1] B. senegalensis produces fruits, clustered in small bunches, in the form of yellow spherical berries, up to 1.5 cm (0.59 in) in diameter.

Common names include: aizen (Mauritania and Western Sahara), mukheit (Arabic), hanza (Hausa), bere (Bambara), ngigili (Fulani), mandiarha (Berber), anza (Zarma) and 'taedent (Tamasheq).

It currently grows in: Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, and Togo.

It can be found growing in marginal soils: rocky, lateritic, clay stony hills, sand dunes, and sand-clay plains.

[1] These characteristics make it a highly resilient species, able to grow without expensive inputs even in the extremely hot and dry desert region of the Sahel.

Ethnobotanical indigenous knowledge contributes to the importance of this plant to the Hausa peoples of Niger and Fulani herders in West Africa.

[3] In Niger, the trees are often cut or burned down by farmers in the dry season, in order to make space on the field for staple crops such as millet or sorghum.

One intervention with the potential to help poor farmers is the creation of cool temperature storage facilities – as B. senegalensis seeds can be stored for up to 2 months at 15 °C (59 °F).

[4] It is imperative to spread knowledge of the wide range of benefits that B. senegalensis provides, in order to encourage small farmers to plant it.

It can help raise incomes of the poor by protecting their stored cereals from pests and by substituting for other purchases from the market.

[3] This creates a barrier to widespread growth, as it is difficult to propagate large numbers of plants for large-scale genetic selection and breeding.

Other drawbacks to consumption include the issue of toxicity and the associated need to use scarce water resources and additional labour to leach out toxins during the debittering process.

[7] In Niger, the commercially processed hanza seeds are gathered and pre-processed by rural women, giving them a valuable source of income.

Very few predators show interest in consuming the fruits until they are fully ripe, at which state birds may be attracted to the sweet jelly mesocarp.

Therefore, bitter hanza seeds can be safely stored for several years as long as they are protected from rain and humidity.

These products from natural, wild B. senegalensis were recognised with the innovation award at an international food fair in Niamey, Niger, 2012.

[11] Leaf extracts contain carbohydrate hydrolase enzymes that are useful for the production of cereal-based flour and for reducing the bulk of cereal porridges.