Alsodeiopsis schumannii

(Engl.) Engl.

IcacinaceaeFruit
Alsodeiopsis schumannii
iNaturalist · cc-by-nc-sa
(c) TanzaniaPlantCollaboration, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA)
Alsodeiopsis schumannii
iNaturalist · cc-by-nc-sa
(c) TanzaniaPlantCollaboration, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA)
Alsodeiopsis schumannii
iNaturalist · cc-by-nc-sa
(c) TanzaniaPlantCollaboration, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA)

What to Eat

Edible parts: Fruit

The juicy, sweet, pulpy seeds inside the fruit are eaten, especially by children.

Where to Find It

It is a tropical plant. It grows in mountain forests. In Tanzania it grows between 900-2,000 m above sea level.

Africa, East Africa, Tanzania,

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 small branched tree. It grows 12 m tall. The bark is smooth and pale grey to brown. Young branches have golden brown hairs. The leaves are simple and alternate. They are 5-12 cm long by 2-5 cm wide. They are sword shaped and wedge shaped at the base and taper to the tip. They are hairy. The flowers are yellow and in loose groups in the axils of leaves. The fruit are orange to red and oval. They are 2.2 cm long by 1.5 cm wide. There is a woody stone inside that has ridges along it.

How to Grow

Plants can be grown from seeds.

Other Uses

The wood is hard. It is used for building poles, pestles, carvings, tool handles and spoons. The wood is used for fuel and to make charcoal.

Wikipedia

Source ↗

Alsodeiopsis schumannii is a species of plant in the Icacinaceae family. It is endemic to Tanzania, specifically the East Usambara, the Uluguru Mountains, and the Southern Highlands. It is an evergreen shrub or tree up to 12 m (40 ft) tall. The fruit, an oblong drupe ripening to orange-red, is edible with sweet and juicy pulp around the hard stone.

Production

Fruit develop in May - July.

Other Information

The fruit are eaten especially by children.

Names & Synonyms

Mbululu, Mkaangambeyu, Mkarangamwitu, Mmavimavi, Mnozambeyu, Muvulambe, Mvalambe

Alsodeiidium schumanii Engl.

More from Icacinaceae