Octolobus spectabilis
Welw.
gbif· cc-by
Meise Botanic Garden
gbif· cc-by
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
gbif· cc-by
Meise Botanic Garden
Description
A shrub or small tree. It grows 10 m tall. The trunk can be 15 cm across. The small branches are hairy. The leaves are alternate, simple and entire. The leaf blade is 6-24 cm long by 2-8 cm wide. They are round or wedge shaped at the base and taper to the tip. The flowers occur singly and are yellow. Flowers can have both sexes or just be male. The fruit has 10-65 almost round follicles. The fruit are 5 cm long and 3.5 cm wide. They are reddish-brown with 2-7 seeds.
Edible Uses
The seeds are eaten.
Medicinal Uses
A maceration of the root bark is taken against sexual asthenia.
Distribution
It is a tropical plant. It grows in the undergrowth in dry forest. It can occur up to 1,000 m altitude.
Where It Grows
Africa, Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central Africa, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, East Africa, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, West Africa,
Cultivation
Plants are grown from seeds.
Other Uses
The yellowish-white wood usually has brownish necrosis in the centre. The texture is fine. The wood is heavy and rather hard. The stems are made into spear shafts.
Notes
There are 3 Octolobus species. They are like Cola. Also put in the family Sterculiaceae.
References (1)
- Brink, M., 2007. Octolobus spectabilis Welw. [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 20 October 200919 October 2009.
