Pseudospondias microcarpa

Description

A large spreading tree. It grows 10-14 m tall. It can be 35 m tall. The trunk is short and can be 2 m across. It has buttresses. The trunk is irregular and twisted with branches near the base. The bark is smooth and thin when young. It becomes yellow-grey and rough when old. It flakes off in large pieces. The leaves have an odd number of leaflets along the stalk. The stalk can be 30 cm long. There are 2-8 pairs of leaflets plus one extra. Each leaflet is stalked. The leaflets are rather stiff and oval. They are 5-20 cm long. The base of the leaflets is unequal. The tip is pointed. The leaflets are darker above than below. The flowers are in loose heads. These are 10-32 cm long. They occur beside the leaves. The flower stalks are dull red brown. The flowers are very small and white. The fruit is a soft fruit with a kernel in a stone. The flesh is edible. The fruit are blue-black and 2.5 cm across. The stone is four sided and contains seeds.

Edible Uses

Fruits - raw or cooked. A resinous flavour. A sweet flavour, they are normally only eaten in small quantities as a snack. The fruits are nearly 2.5 cm long, red or bluish black when ripe. The juice stains the fingers. The seeds are sometimes eaten.

Traditional Uses

The fruit is eaten raw.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Medicinal Uses

The bark contains a little reddish resin, which is used to treat jaundice and other diseases affecting the eyes. The bark contains tannin and is purgative and diuretic. It is used as a decoction or eaten as a powder in the treatment of various complaints including jaundice, cough, febrile lumbago, pains in the ribs, stomach complaints, asthenia, urethral discharge and toothache. Used externally, it is held to be good for treating ulcers on the soles of the feet when it is compounded with the heartwood of Pterocarpus soyauxii, the feet having been previously washed in the sap of Aframomum giganteum. It is also used in vapour baths and the lees used in frictions for treating persistent rheumatic pain. The plant is considered to be an aphrodisiac in some areas, and the sap from a piece of bark cooked in a leaf is given to a girl suffering infatuation because she is under sorcery, in order to make her vomit up the fetish.

Distribution

A tropical plant. It grows in the lowlands. It occurs on lake shores and rain-forest edges and in swampy areas in tropical forests. It is common in Africa. In Tanzania it grows between 900-1,700 m above sea level. It grows in areas with a rainfall between 1,200-2,100 mm.

Where It Grows

Africa*, Angola, Asia, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Congo DR, Congo R, Côte d'Ivoire, East Africa, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, SE Asia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, West Africa, Zambia,

Cultivation

Plants are grown from seed. The seed should have a small cut made in the hard layer or should be soaked in cold water for 12 hours before planting. The seed can be stored for 5 months after drying the whole fruit. It can be topped or pruned.

Other Uses

The bark and leaves contain tannin. The bark contains a little resin. A red paste produced by pounding the bark is smeared on winnowing trays to make them grain-proof. The seeds are used as beads. The greyish or greenish wood is soft to moderately hard, liable to warp, perishable and subject to borer-attack. It is sometimes used for poles, planks, grain mortars, stools, canoes etc.

Production

The plant is fast growing. Fruit mature in 90-120 days. In is collected during the rainy season.

Other Information

It is reasonably commonly eaten in West Africa. The fruit are especially eaten by children.

Nutrition

Synonyms

Also Known As

Agombe, Bololo, Byungu, Doleke, Chungu, Dowei, Dueke, Ewungu, Iyungu, Ka-dibia, Katawani, Kyungu, Mbolu, Mendiko, Mfiwa, Mubulu, Muziru, Mviwa, Nyibu, Nziru, Ochol, Pela, Pohon anggur afrika, Sana, Wungu

References (30)

• Ambe, G., 2001, Les fruits sauvages comestibles des savanes guinéennes de Côte-d’Ivoire : état de la connaissance par une population locale, les Malinké. Biotechnol. Agron. Soc. Environ. 5(1), 43-48
• Bojang, L., 1999, Non-wood Forest Products in The Gambia. EC-FAO Partnership Programme.
• Dalziel, J. M., 1937, The Useful plants of west tropical Africa. Crown Agents for the Colonies London.
• Djihounouck, Y., et al, 2018, Diversité Et Importance Socio-Economique Des Espèces Fruitières Sauvages Comestibles En Zone Kasa (Sud-Ouest Du Sénégal). European Scientific Journal December 2018 edition Vol.14, No.36 ISSN: 1857 – 7881
• Harris, D. J., 2002, The vascular plants of the Dzanga-Sangha Reserve, Central African Republic. National Botanic Garden of Belgium, 2002. – 274 pages p 40

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