Sorindeia madagascariensis

Thouars ex DC.

Grape mango, Mpilivili tree

Anacardiaceae Edible: Fruit 116 iNaturalist observations

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iNaturalist· cc-by-nc

Description

A large tree. It grows 20 m tall. The trunk can be 20 cm across. The leaves are compound. The leaflets are almost opposite. There are usually 4 pairs. The flowers are on the trunks and large branches. They are small and hang in long groups. The fruit are yellow and sweet. The bunches are 50 cm long. There can be 200 fruit in a bunch. They hang from the main trunk and branches. The fruit are 2-3 cm long by 1.3 cm across. They are yellow.

Edible Uses

The ripe, sweet fruit are eaten raw or processed into juice by soaking in warm water, squeezing, filtering, and adding sugar. The fruit are also used to make beer and are sold in local markets.

Traditional Uses

The ripe fruit are sweet and edible. They are eaten raw. They are also soaked in warm water, squeezed and filtered and sugar is added to make a juice drink. The fruit are also used for beer.

Medicinal Uses

The roots are used for the treatment of malaria, tuberculosis, schistosomiasis, hookworm and menstruation problems. A decoction of the roots, mixed with the roots of Mwinu (Cassia didymobotrya), Mkumba (Macaranga capensis) and Mshegheshe (Myrica salicifolia) is drunk as a treatment against mental illness. The stem bark is applied externally in the treatment of syphilitic sores.

Distribution

A tropical plant. It grows in the lowlands. It grows in humid and subhumid evergreen forest. In Madagascar it grows from sea level to 1,000 m altitude. It grows in places with an annual rainfall between 460-2,375 mm. It can grow in arid places. In Tanzania it grows from sea level to 1,800 m above sea level. It is often in seasonally flooded places.

Where It Grows

Africa, Asia, Comoros*, East Africa, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar*, Malawi, Mascarenes, Mauritius, Mozambique, SE Asia, Singapore, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Africa, Sudan, Tanzania,

Cultivation

Plants can be grown from fresh seeds.

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe.

Other Uses

The wood is a good timber that is used for furniture, doors, spoons, milk pots, grain mortars, tool handles and canoe paddles, pestles and carvings. The wood is a good fuel. The tree provides good shade and is important in agroforestry.

Production

Fruit are collected from September to October in Tanzania.

Other Information

The fruit are sold in local markets.

Notes

There are 14 Sorindeia species.

Synonyms

Sorindeia obtusifoliata Engl.Sorindeia somalensis (Chiov.) Chiov.Sorindeia usambarensis Engl.

Also Known As

Mfotofoto, Mgoda, Mgweda, Mgwego, Mhilihili, Mkunguma, Mkunguwa, Mkwingwa, Mkwingwina, Mndaraho, Mpilipili, Mpilipinzi, Mtikiza, Musele, Musgwe, Muzingilizi, Ngoweda, Nkunguma, Ntalawanda, Nyembedwa, Sasola, Sondriry, Tnirondro, Tsirindry, Tsirondrano, Tsirondro, Voantsirindry, Voasirindrina, Voasindrirna

References (25)

Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 590
Arora, R. K., 2014, Diversity in Underutilized Plant Species - An Asia-Pacific Perspective. Bioversity International. p 87
Burkill, I.H., 1966, A Dictionary of the Economic Products of the Malay Peninsula. Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Vol 2 (I-Z) p 2091
FAO. 1983, Food and fruit-bearing forest species 1: Examples from Eastern Africa. FAO Food and Forestry Paper 44/1 p 95
Hedrick, U.P., 1919, (Ed.), Sturtevant's edible plants of the world. p 629

Show all 25 references

Herb., E. A., 1981, (As Sorindeia usambarensis)
Jardin, C., 1970, List of Foods Used In Africa, FAO Nutrition Information Document Series No 2.p 162
Jardin, C., 1970, List of Foods Used In Africa, FAO Nutrition Information Document Series No 2.p 162 (As Sorindeia obtusifoliolata and Sorindeia usambarensis)
JSTOR Global Plants edible
Lovett, J. C. et al, Field Guide to the Moist Forest Trees of Tanzania. p 11
Macmillan, H.F. (Revised Barlow, H.S., et al) 1991, Tropical Planting and Gardening. Sixth edition. Malayan Nature Society. Kuala Lumpur. p 308
Mpasiwakomu, R. A., 2017, The Diversity and Utilization of Wild Edible and Medicinal Plant Species found in Uvinza Miombo Woodlands, Tanzania. M. Sc. thesis University of Tanzania.
Msuya, T. S., et al, 2010, Availability, Preference and Consumption of Indigenous Foods in the Eastern Arc Mountains, Tanzania, Ecology of Food and Nutrition, 49:3, 208-227
Mutie, F. M., et al, 2023, Important Medicinal and Food Taxa (Orders and Families) in Kenya, Based on Three Quantitative Approaches. Plants 2023, 12, 1145
Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 53 (Also as Sorindeia usambarensis)
Schatz, G.E., 2001, Generic Tree Flora of Madagascar. Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden. p 43
Prodr. 2:80. 1825
Reitveld, S., 2013, The Animals and Plants of the Zazamalala Forest in Western Madagascar. p 43
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Styger, E., et al, 1999, Indigenous fruit trees of Madagascar: potential components of agroforestry systems to improve human nutrition and restore biological diversity. Agroforestry Systems 46: 289-310
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Walsh, M., 2009, The Use of Wild and Cultivated Plants as famine Foods on Pemba Island, Zanzibar. Études océan Indien. 42-43
White, F., Dowsett-Lemaire, F. and Chapman, J. D., 2001, Evergreen Forest Flora of Malawi. Kew. p 125
Williamson, J., 2005, Useful Plants of Malawi. 3rd. Edition. Mdadzi Book Trust. p 233