Chrysophyllum subnudum
Baker
gbif· cc-by-nc-nd
Jacques Bié Mba & West & Central Africa program
gbif· cc-by-nc-nd
Jacques Bié Mba & West & Central Africa program
gbif· cc-by-nc-nd
Jacques Bié Mba & West & Central Africa program
Description
A medium sized tree. It grows 25 m tall. The trunk is 60 cm across. It is straight and cylinder shaped. It can have short buttresses at the base. The leaves are arranged in spirals. The leaves are simple and entire. They are narrowly oval and 8-20 cm long by 3-5 cm wide. They are wedge shaped at the base. There are silvery grey hairs underneath. The flowers are in tufts in the axils of leaves. They are greenish white. The fruit is a round berry 3 cm long. It is slightly 5 lobed. It is a greenish yellow. There are up to 5 seeds. The seeds are 2.5 cm long by 1.5 cm wide and brown.
Edible Uses
Fruit - raw. A sweetly acidulous pulp. The greenish to yellowish fruit is a globose berry about 3cm long containing up to 5 fairly large seeds.
Traditional Uses
The nuts are eaten fresh or dried.
This uses section is brief — help expand it
Medicinal Uses
A bark decoction is used as purgative and for the treatment of intestinal complaints.
Distribution
It is a tropical plant. It grows in lowland semi-deciduous forest and evergreen forest.
Where It Grows
Africa, Benin, Cameroon, Central Africa, Congo DR, Congo R, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo, West Africa,
Cultivation
Plants grow from seeds. Seedlings can tolerate shade.
Propagation
Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe. They start to germinate 2 - 8 weeks after sowing with a germination rate that varies from 25 - 90%.
Other Uses
A sticky latex exudes from the bark. No uses are mentioned for it. The heartwood is yellow-grey to pinkish brown and indistinctly demarcated from the whitish sapwood, which is up to 10 cm wide. The grain is usually straight but sometimes wavy, texture fine. The wood is lustrous, fairly heavy, moderately shock-resistant. It is fairly easy to saw, works well with hand and machine tools, and it can be planed to a smooth finish. It holds nails and screws well; pre-boring before nailing is recommended but not necessary. The wood takes polish and varnish well. It is only moderately durable and liable to attacks by blue stain, termites and marine borers. The wood is suitable for construction, flooring, interior trim, joinery, furniture, mine props, vehicle bodies, implements, panelling, veneer and plywood.
Synonyms
Also Known As
Adasema, Akasa, Akatio, Longhi rouge, Pablieh, Yon-ye yala
References (5)
- Burkill, H. M., 1985, The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 5. Kew.
- Lemmens, R.H.M.J., 2007. Chrysophyllum subnudum Baker. [Internet] Record from Protabase. Louppe, D., Oteng-Amoako, A.A. & Brink, M. (Editors). PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa), Wageningen, Netherlands. < http://database.prota.org/search.htm>. Accessed 14 October 2009.
- Nkeoua, G. & Boundzanga, G. C., 1999, Donnees sur les produits forestieres non ligneux en Republique du Congo. FAO. p 27 (As Gambeya subnuda)
- Oteng-Amoako, A. A. (Ed.), 2006, 100 Tropical African Timber Trees from Ghana. Forestry Research Institute of Ghana. p 108
- World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (As Gambeya subnuda)
