Pseudobersama mossambicensis
(Sim.) Verdc.
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(c) Troos van der Merwe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Troos van der Merwe
Description
A tree. It grows 10 m tall. The leaves have leaflets with one at the end. With the stalk they are 30 cm long. They are hairy towards the base. There are 9-17 leaflets. These are 15 cm long by 6 cm wide. The flowers are white. There are 3-12 in a loose group.
Medicinal Uses
Cytotoxic 7-hydroxy sterols have been isolated from the twigs and leaves. They showed toxicity against P-388 murine leukaemia cells, and some of them exhibited significant DNA-damaging activity.
Distribution
It is a tropical plant.
Where It Grows
Africa, East Africa, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania,
Cultivation
The plant can start flowering whilst still a shrub only 2 - 4 metres tall. A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required.
Other Uses
The white wood is light in weight but durable. It is used for poles in local house building and as a general purpose timber. The wood is used as fuelwood and for making charcoal.
References (1)
- World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
