Their scent is most notable at night indicating that they are adapted to pollination by bats, which visit them for pollen and nectar.

The flowers remain open during the day, and are freely visited by many insect pollinators, particularly large species such as carpenter bees.

The fruit are eaten by several species of mammals, including baboons, bushpigs, savannah elephants, giraffes, hippopotamuses, monkeys, and porcupines.

[2] The hard shell (skin) of the fruit can be hollowed out, cleaned, and made into useful, durable containers of varying sizes.

Early use of the wood for wedge-shaped tools was discovered at Kalambo Falls, Zambia, dating to between 390,000 and 324,000 years ago.

The dried fruits are then inserted into a fermentation vessel with older, in-use muratina (prural) to activate and inoculate the new ones with yeast.

Planting sites should be selected carefully, as the falling fruit can cause serious injury to people and damage vehicles parked under the trees.