Uvaria ovata
(Vahl ex DC.) Hook.f. & Benth.
AnnonaceaeFruit
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Wikimedia Commons - Karl Thomas Moore
Wikimedia Commons - Karl Thomas Moore
wikimedia · cc0
Wikimedia Commons - (Vahl ex DC.) Hook.f. and Benth.
Wikimedia Commons - (Vahl ex DC.) Hook.f. and Benth.
What to Eat
Edible parts: Fruit
The fruit are eaten raw and are sweet. They are sometimes sold in markets.
Where to Find It
A tropical plant. It grows in savannah areas in West Africa.
Africa*, Benin, Brazil, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, South America, Togo, West Africa,
Countries: Angola, Argentina, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Botswana, Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, Congo (Republic), Cote d'Ivoire, Chile, Cameroon, Colombia, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Algeria, Ecuador, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, French Guiana, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Kenya, Comoros, Liberia, Lesotho, Libya, Morocco, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Peru, Paraguay, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Somalia, Suriname, South Sudan, Sao Tome & Principe, Eswatini, Chad, Togo, Tunisia, Tanzania, Uganda, Uruguay, Venezuela, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe
How to Identify
A shrub. It grows 2.5 m high. The fruit are round or oval. They are 4 cm long by 2 cm wide. They are sweet and edible.
Other Uses
The stems are used for basket making and also to make hurdle-fencing.
Other Information
Fruit are sometimes sold in markets.
Names & Synonyms
Akotompo, Araticum-maminha
Unona ovata Vahl ex DC.Uva ovata (Vahl ex DC.) KuntzeUvaria ovata (Vahl ex Dunal) A. DCUvaria globosa Hook. f.
References (7)
- Burkill, H. M., 1985, The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 1. Kew.
- Dalziel, 1937,
- Ferns, Useful Tropical Plants
- Jardin, C., 1970, List of Foods Used In Africa, FAO Nutrition Information Document Series No 2.p 167
- JSTOR Global Plants edible
- Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 56
- World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
