Atroxima afzeliana

(Oliv.) Stapf.

PolygalaceaeFruit
Atroxima afzeliana
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Forest & Kim Starr (via Wikimedia Commons)

What to Eat

Edible parts: Fruit

The fruit is eaten.

Where to Find It

A tropical plant. It grows in forests and along river banks.

Africa, Angola, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Congo DR, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, West Africa,

Countries: Angola, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Benin, Botswana, Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, Congo (Republic), Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Comoros, Liberia, Lesotho, Libya, Morocco, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, Sao Tome & Principe, Eswatini, Chad, Togo, Tunisia, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How to Identify

A shrub or small tree. It can be a woody climber. It grows 8 m tall. The leaves are narrowly oval and wedge shaped at the base. The flowers are in hairy groups. They are cream to mauve. The fruit is round and has a rough shell. It is 2-3 cm across. It is edible.

Medicinal Uses

Apart from the fruit being edible, the stem, root, and leaves of the plant are used as medicine to treat various illnesses.

Wikipedia

Source ↗

Atroxima afzeliana is a species of plant in the milkwort family (Polygalaceae). It is endemic to rainforests and forest fringes with altitudes below 200 metres (660 ft) in Western Tropical Africa. It was first described in 1868 by Daniel Oliver, at which point it was described as a new Carpolobia or a new genus. In 1905, Otto Stapf classified it into the atroxima genus.

Production

In Central African Republic flowers have been observed in October.

Names & Synonyms

Bakeserigny, Bontanhe, Budioy, Bukokobaj'in, Fumiton, Jugbay jelee, Natiniate, Ndomai

Atroxima macrostachya (Chod.) StapfCarpolobia afzeliana Oliv.
References (9)
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  • Jardin, C., 1970, List of Foods Used In Africa, FAO Nutrition Information Document Series No 2.p 121
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  • World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

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