Commiphora pedunculata
(Kotschy et Peyr.) Engl.
What to Eat
Edible parts: Fruit
The fruit is eaten.
Where to Find It
A tropical plant. It grows in the Savannah in West Africa. It can tolerate frost. It grows between 125-600 m above sea level. It grows in areas with a rainfall under 800 mm per year. It can grow in arid places.
Africa, Burkina Faso, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, East Africa, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, Tanzania, West Africa, Zambia,
How to Identify
A shrub or tree. It can grow 6.5 m tall. It has a stout trunk 1 m around. The bark is papery. Young branches are hairy. The leaves have leaflets along the stalk. There are 2-5 pairs of leaflets. The leaf stalk is 3 cm long. The leaflet blades are 8.5 cm long by 3.5 cm wide. There are teeth along the edge. The flowers are in groups up to 5 cm long in the axils of leaves. The fruit is small and black. It is about 1.4 cm across.
Other Uses
The bark yields an oleo-gum-resin like myrrh which is used as incense. The wood is soft and is of little use.
Notes
There are about 165 Commiphora species.
Names & Synonyms
Kountanke, Luban, Sabnughagha
References (11)
- Abbiw, D.K., 1990, Useful Plants of Ghana. West African uses of wild and cultivated plants. Intermediate Technology Publications and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. p 46
- Burkill, H. M., 1985, The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 1. Kew.
- Dalziel, J. M., 1937, The Useful plants of west tropical Africa. Crown Agents for the Colonies London.
- Exell, A.W. et al, (Ed), 1963, Flora Zambesiaca Vol 2 Part 1 Crown Agents, London. p 275
- Ferns, Useful Tropical Plants
- Grivetti, L. E., 1980, Agricultural development: present and potential role of edible wild plants. Part 2: Sub-Saharan Africa, Report to the Department of State Agency for International Development. p 30
- Jardin, C., 1970, List of Foods Used In Africa, FAO Nutrition Information Document Series No 2.p 130
- Le Houerou, H. N., (Ed.), 1980, Browse in Africa. The current state of knowledge. International Livestock Centre for Africa, Ethiopia. p 162
- Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 73
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (1999). Survey of Economic Plants for Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (SEPASAL) database. Published on the Internet; http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/ceb/sepasal/internet [Accessed 5th April 2011]
- World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
