African satinwood
Zanthoxylum gilletii

Family: Rutaceae

What it is like

A tree. It grows 35 m tall. The trunk is without branches for 15 m. It is straight and cylinder shaped. It is 90 cm across. It has prickles up to 3 cm long. The leaves are alternate and clustered at the ends of branches. They are compound. There are 13-27 leaflets with one leaflet at the end. The leaves are 120 cm long. The leaflets are 14-30 cm long by 4-10 cm wide. The flowers are of separate sexes. The fruit are round and woody. They are 4-6 mm across. The seeds are round.

Where it is found

It is a tropical plant. It grows up to 2,400 m altitude. The rainfall is 1,200-2,400 mm per year. It grows in the humid zone in West Africa.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Congo DR, Congo R, Côte d'Ivoire, East Africa, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Southern Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, West Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

The young shoots are used for flavouring sauces. The leaves are added to tea for flavouring. The seeds yield an edible oil.

Edible parts

Leaves - flavouring, leaves - tea, seeds - oil

How it is grown

Plants are grown from seed. The fruit are dried for 1-2 days then the seed shaken out. Seeds germinate 3 weeks after planting. The germination rate is low. Seedlings should be grown in the shade.

It grows rapidly. Fruit ripen about 3 months after flowering.

Its other names

Local names

Bahe, Bolongolo, Cipolo, Dongolo, Geyee, Kanyambumbu, Kengene, Kimpanga, Kitutube, Mafu, Mbi, Mfuakambi, Mhangana, Mhombo, Mkome, Mlungulungu, Mulungulu, Musamba-mayele, Nkongo mayeno, Nkonko nkumanga, Nungu nsende, Nzongo, Olondu

Synonyms

Fagara amaniensis Engl.; Fagara discolor Engl.; Fagara gilletii De Wild.; Fagara inaequalis Engl.; Fagara iturensis Engl.; Fagara kivuensis Lebrun ex Gilbert; Fagara macrophylla (Oliv.) Engl.; Fagara melanorachis Hoyle; Fagara obliquefoliolata Engl.; Fagara tessmannii Engl.; Zanthoxylum tessmannii (Engl.) J. F. Ayafor;