Anonychium africanum

Anonychium is a genus of plant in the pea family (Fabaceae). It includes a single species, Anonychium africanum, a tree native to northern Sub-saharan Africa from Mauritania to Uganda and to Saudi Arabia. It is known by the synonym Prosopis africana, and its common names include African mesquite, iron tree, gele, gueni (in Malinke), okpehe, and somb tree. Okpehe is the name given by the Idoma and Igala people of Nigeria to both the tree and its fermented seeds. All of the other derivatives such as okpeye and okpiye stem from the noun okpehe used by the Idoma and Igala people of present day Benue State of Nigeria.

In the Serer creation myth, it is one of the sacred trees that grew not just first, but also within the primordial swamp on Earth.